Barriers and opportunities for adapting to climate change on the North Coast of São Paulo,Brazil

Regional Environmental Change - This paper examines barriers and opportunities for climate change adaptation in an urban coastal setting where adaptation is in its infancy. It draws on a diagnostic...     

Addition of Saturated Fatty Acids to Biodegradable Films: Effect on the Crystallinity and Viscoelastic Characteristics

Biodegradable films were produced by extrusion from blends of starch, glycerol and poly(butylene adipate co-terephthalate), a biodegradable polyester, with the addition of 1.5 % (wt/wt) saturated fatty acids (caproic, lauric or stearic). Films containing fatty acids had higher crystallinity than control films and the longer the carbon chain of the acid was, the more crystalline the film. Fatty acids with up to 12 carbon atoms did not alter the viscoelastic characteristic of the films. Further, the incorporation of fatty acids did not decrease the hydrophilicity of the films in comparison with the control film without a fatty acid.