Properties of partially biodegradable laminated LDPE - starch blend films

I&EC 7

Asim Kumar Jana, janaak@nitj.ac.in, Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, 144011, India, Sangeeta Garg, Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, 144011, India, and Sarabjit Singh, Department of Applied Physics, National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, 144011, India.
There has been an urgent need for the development of modified plastics or substitutes, to enhance the biodegradability and to lessen the dependency on the petroleum resources. One of the viable alternatives to accelerate the degradation and to guarantee at least partial biodegradation is the addition biodegradable agricultural feed stocks. LDPE-starch blend films offer an elegant approach to meet the requirements of responsible and ecologically sound utilization of resources and ultimate disposability. However, the blending of the hydrophilic starch and hydrophobic LDPE are not compatible in nature and have poor surface adhesion leading to phase separation during the processing of the blend film. The mechanical properties of the films deteriorate rapidly with the increase in starch concentrations. With the objectives to enhance the mechanical properties at higher starch content i.e. improved biodegradation properties, laminated films of the LDPE-starch blend film laminated on both sides of the LDPE films have been studied in the present paper. The concentration of the starch in the blend films were varied upto 15 %. Mechanical properties of the films were measured to see the effect of starch on tensile strength, % elongation, melt flow index and burst strength with respect to LDPE films. It was observed that the tensile strengths were higher for laminated films than the individual blend films but the % elongation was lower for the laminated film. Addition of starch increased the burst strength of all the films and the rate of increase was higher for the laminated films. The melt flow index decreased with the addition of starch in the blend film but for the laminated film melt flow index increased. All the results have been explained in light of the compatibility of the blend, effect of the plasticizer, characteristics of the single and laminated films.
 

Alternative Resources for the Chemical Industry
8:30 AM-11:55 AM, Sunday, April 6, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Rm. 223, Oral

Division of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008