Disintegrability of PHB nanocomposites with cellulose nanocrystals and bacterial cellulose in composting conditions

I. T. SEOANE; E. FORTUNATI; D. PUGLIA; L.B. MANFREDI; V. P. CYRAS

Mar del Plata

Simposio; XVI Simposio Latinoamericano de Polímeros (SLAP 2018) y el XIV Congreso Iberoamericano de Polímeros (CIP 2018).; 2018

INTEMA

Biodegradable polymers have attracted scientific and technological interest worldwide due to their role in the reduction of plastic waste problem.Poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), a poly(hydroxyalcanoate) synthesized by controlled bacterial fermentation, is a high crystalline polymeric material, fully biodegradable. Due to its high crystallinity and hydrophobic character, PHB has excellent barrier properties to use on films. However, PHB presents some problems, such as high cost, slow crystallization rate and a narrow window for the processing conditions. The development of nanocomposites promises to expand the use of biodegradable films, improving matrix properties. In particular, cellulose nanoparticles are good candidates for nanocomposites reinforcement, due to their abundance, high strength and stiffness, low weight and biodegradability.In this work, PHB-based formulations, reinforced with either bacterial cellulose (BC) or cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), were produced. The effect of bio-based nanofillers was investigated in terms of the disintegrability rate in simulated composting conditions.