The Effect of Interface Enhancement of Polymeric Composites with Cellulose Additive for Biodegradable Packaging
Project no. 1323 · Status: Kapanmış · 2016
Summary
Nowadays, the production and use of non-biodegradable materials used as food packaging has increased dramatically. These materials are usually petroleum derivatives and their disposal creates a problem. There is a growing interest in biopolymers. Many researches on these polymers are being carried out in place of the non-biodegradable polymers. One of the major research area is by adding biodegradable materials to non-biodegradable polymers to enhance biodegradability. To develop sustainable and environmentally friendly food packaging materials with the desired film properties, many researches are being carried out and it is aimed to reduce environmental pollution caused by plastic waste. In this study, it is aimed to produce food packaging material from carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) which is a natural polymer. CMC is one of the most abundant biopolymers in nature and is biodegradable and does not pose a danger to the environment. At the same time, low density polyethylene (LDPE, L) is a non-biodegradable packaging material which is one of the most used petroleum based plastics in the packaging industry, is aimed to give biodegradability without changing desired film properties. Polycaprolactone (PCL, P) has been used as additive to provide biodegradability to LDPE. FTIR analyses were performed to follow the functional groups of all prepared films. In the LDPE/PCL composite film profiles, the amount of PCL and additives was not found to be effective. In CMC films, FTIR profiles vary greatly depending on the type and amount of plasticizer. Optical microscope images were taken to examine the surface morphologies and crystal structures of the films. Crystal structures are all variable, depending on the materials in the film and the cooling process. Strain-stress tests have been carried out to determine the mechanical properties. As the amount of PCL in LDPE/PCL films increases, elasticity is expected to increase, but films become more fragile because a homogeneous film cannot be obtained. In the CMC films, the mechanical properties of the plasticizer type are very effective. The CMC film prepared with PEG (Merck), was better mechanical properties than others. In the film groups followed by biodegradation, L_P30_010 and L_P30_G10 films reached 16% and 21.54% weight loss, respectively. In addition, neat PCL film is completely degraded.