Biodegradation of Bloodmeal-Based Thermoplastics in Green-Waste Composting |
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Authors: | Casparus J R Verbeek Talia Hicks Alan Langdon |
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Institution: | (1) School of Engineering, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, 3240 Hamilton, New Zealand |
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Abstract: | Polymers that are compostable and manufactured from renewable resources have gained significant importance in recent years.
The objective of this work was to assess the biodegradability of bloodmeal-based thermoplastics in a commercial green-waste
composting situation. Materials plasticised with tri-ethylene–glycol lost about 45% of their original mass after 12 weeks
composting while unplasticised samples lost 35%. Degradation appeared to have been in two phases; an initial loss of soluble,
low molecular compounds in the mesophilic phase followed by degradation of high molecular compounds as the temperature exceeded
about 40 °C in the thermophilic phase. It was found that as degradation proceeded materials became more soluble. In addition,
plasticised and unplasticized samples contained about 60 wt% moisture after 4 weeks of composting conditioning at 50% relative
humidity resulted in approximately 8–10 wt% moisture, unaffected by the extent of degradation. FTIR revealed that proteins
underwent hydrolytic cleavage resulting in the formation of primary amines. A significant reduction in combustion temperature
was observed, indicative of a reduction in covalent bonding, likely due to shorter chains lengths or less cross-linking. |
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