Laboratory Research of Degradation of Polyhydroxyalkanoates of Different Chemical Structure in Soil

Abstract

Degradation of three types of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) was studied in the laboratory conditions in the field soil at two temperature regimes during 35 days. It was shown that composition of PHA and the degree of crystallinity have a significant effect on degradation of PHA films. The order of biodegradability of film samples was: poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate (P3HB-co-4HB) > poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate (P3HB-co-3HV) > poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P3HB). Samples of P3HB-co-4HB copolymers with the lowest degree of crystallinity were destroyed most actively; a significant decrease of molecular weight of P3HB-co-4HB during destruction was found.The initial molecular weight of the samples did not affect the process of PHA destruction. A significant effect of the medium temperature on the rate of PHA degradation was found; PHA samples were destroyed 1.5-2 times more actively at 28 °С compared to 21 ºС.

Properties, Soil Degradation and Fitotoxicity of Starch Composites with Polyvinyl Alcohol

“…Несмотря на активное исследование биораз-лагаемых полигидроксиалканоатов микробного и синтетического происхождения [1][2][3], а также мировое развитие рынка получаемых на их основе биопластиков (посуда однократного ис-пользования, упаковка, тара и т.п.) [4,5], объемы производства и темп потребления аналогичных материалов из крупнотоннажных синтетических небиоразлагаемых полимеров продолжают воз-растать.…”