Glycerol Tributirate as Plasticizer for Poly(hydroxybutyrate)

M.M. QUISPE; O.V. LÓPEZ; M.A. VILLAR

Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires

Simposio; XVI Simposio Latinoamericano de Polímeros, SLAP18 y XIV Congreso Iberoamericano de Polímeros, CIP18; 2018

INTEMA (UNS-CONICET)

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is the most extensively studied polymer among the isolated PHAs. PHB is an ideal candidate for the production of biodegradable packaging materials. However, PHB thermal processing is challenging because of its relative low decomposition temperature near the melting point, pronounced brittleness, very low deformability, and susceptibility to a rapid thermal degradation. Plasticizers reduce the glass transition temperature and the melting point, allowing the PHB processing at lower temperature and avoiding its thermal degradation. In addition, plasticizers improve both toughness and softness of the polymer by decreasing its crystallinity, weakening the intra-macromolecular bonding, and facilitating conformational changes.