Structural Development and Properties of Melt Spun Poly(butylene succinate) and Poly(butylene terephthalate-co-succinate-co-adipate) Biodegradable Fibers

Abstract

Structural Development and Properties of Melt Spun Poly(butylene succinate) and Poly(butylene terephthalate-co-succinate-co-adipate) Biodegradable FibersHigh-speed melt spinning of biodegradable aliphatic polyester poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), and aliphatic-aromatic copolyester poly(butylene terephthalate-co-succinate-co-adipate) (PBTSA) was carried out. The effects of spinning conditions on the structural development of PBS and PBTSA fibers were investigated through the measurements on on-line velocity profile, birefringence, wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), differential scanning calorimetry, and tensile test. Both PBS and PBTSA fibers showed well-developed crystal structure in WAXD patterns, though the deformation of the spinline continued down to the position of winding suggesting that substantial orientation induced crystallization did not occur in spinline of both cases. Increasing take-up velocity or decreasing extrusion temperature led to the enhancement of molecular orientation, crystal structure and mechanical property of both PBS and PBTSA fibers, but no distinct effect on the thermal property of those fibers. The melting temperature of PBTSA fibers was at ca.115°C, same as that of PBS fibers. Elastomeric property of hard-soft units consisting PBTSA fibers leads to its good recoverability; however, this behavior lowers the initial modulus and tensile strength compared with those of the corresponding aliphatic PBS fibers.

Study on biodegradable aromatic/aliphatic copolyesters

“…This mixed-crystal structure was found to undergo PBT-like reversible crystal modification with the application and removal of tensile stress. This crystal modification was found to occur in higher strain regions compared with that of PBT fibers (Shi et al, 2005;Shi et al, 2006).…”

Degradation Behavior of Biodegradable Man-Made Fibers in Natural Soil and in Compost

“…Polylactic acid (PLA) fiber processing is well known [11,12] and PLA fibers are commercially available, e.g., from Indorama Ventures Fibers Germany GmbH (former: Trevira GmbH) [13]. Melt spun fibers made of polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) [14,15], polybutylene succinate-co-butylene terephthalate (PBST) [16,17], polybutylene succinate (PBS) [17][18][19][20], polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) [21][22][23], PBS/PBAT blends [24], PLA/PBS blends [25,26] and PLA/PHB blends [27] have been successfully produced in various research projects. The polyhydroxy alkanoate (PHA) poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxy-valerate) (PHBV) is processable into fibers when used as a bicomponent fiber with PLA sheath and PHBV core [28].…”