Method of Producing Biodegradable Reference Material and its Biodegradability Based on International Standard Evaluation Method (ISO 14855-2)

Returnable cups made of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) are employed as an example of products made of biodegradable plastics. Two kinds of PLA samples plates and powders with different shapes were prepared from PLA cups. The plates were cut from a cup using nippers. Powders were prepared using a rotation mechanical mixer for 45 min. PLA powders were separated by sieves with 60 meshes (250 μm) into a size ranging from 0 to 250 μm. An average diameter of powders separated by a sieve is 169 μm. Biodegradation tests of PLA plates, PLA powders and cellulose powders in controlled compost at 58 °C were performed using a Microbial Oxidative Degradation Analyzer (MODA) instrument according to ISO 14855-2. PLA powders showed almost the same biodegradation curve as that of cellulose powders. PLA plates biodegraded at a slower rate than PLA powders.     

Coating of γ-Al2O3 on the stainless steel substrate by electrophoretic deposition method

γ-Al₂O₃ coatings were prepared on aluminum-free stainless steel (SUS304) by electrophoretic deposition method. Both X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to study the crystalline structure and morphological features of the coatings. Themo gravimetry-differential termal analysis (TG-DTA) is used to study the thermo-chimerical reaction behavior of coatings. Catalytic activity of coatings is determined by degrading of NO_x. The results indicated that the thickness of the coatings onto SUS304 could reach 5 μm without any exfoliation at optimized conditions. Catalytic properties of samples coated by electrophoretic deposition method were highly enhanced as compared with that of samples prepared by the dip coating method.