Biodegradation Studies of Polyhydroxybutyrate and Polyhydroxybutyrate-co-Polyhydroxyvalerate Films in Soil
Abstract
Due to increased environmental pressures, significant research has focused on finding suitable biodegradable plastics to replace ubiquitous petrochemical-derived polymers. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a class of polymers that can be synthesized by microorganisms and are biodegradable, making them suitable candidates. The present study looks at the degradation properties of two PHA polymers: polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polyhydroxybutyrate-co-polyhydroxyvalerate (PHBV; 8 wt.% valerate), in two different soil conditions: soil fully saturated with water (100% relative humidity, RH) and soil with 40% RH. The degradation was evaluated by observing the changes in appearance, chemical signatures, mechanical properties, and molecular weight of samples. Both PHB and PHBV were degraded completely after two weeks in 100% RH soil conditions and showed significant reductions in mechanical properties after just three days. The samples in 40% RH soil, however, showed minimal changes in mechanical properties, melting temperatures/crystallinity, and molecular weight over six weeks. By observing the degradation behavior for different soil conditions, these results can pave the way for identifying situations where the current use of plastics can be replaced with biodegradable alternatives.
- Authors:
-
[1];
[2];
[2];
[2];
[2];
[3];
[3];
[4];
[2];
[2];
[2]
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Gyeongsang National Univ., Jinju (Korea, Republic of)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Gyeongsang National Univ., Jinju (Korea, Republic of)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); General Electric Global Research Center, Niskayuna, NY (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1990142
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-23-23498
Journal ID: ISSN 1422-0067
- Grant/Contract Number:
- 89233218CNA000001
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Online)
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Online); Journal Volume: 24; Journal Issue: 8; Journal ID: ISSN 1422-0067
- Publisher:
- MDPI
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; polyhydroxybutyrate; biodegradable polymers; polymer degradation; green chemistry; density functional theory
Citation Formats
Kim, Jihyeon, Gupta, Nevin Stephen, Bezek, Lindsey Bernadette, Linn, Jacqueline Ann, Bejagam, Karteek Kumar, Banerjee, Shounak, Dumont, Joseph Henry, Nam, Sang Yong, Kang, Hyun Woo, Park, Chi Hoon, Pilania, Ghanshyam, Iverson, Carl Nicholas, Marrone, Babetta Louise, and Lee, Kwan-Soo. Biodegradation Studies of Polyhydroxybutyrate and Polyhydroxybutyrate-co-Polyhydroxyvalerate Films in Soil. United States: N. p., 2023.
Web. doi:10.3390/ijms24087638.
Kim, Jihyeon, Gupta, Nevin Stephen, Bezek, Lindsey Bernadette, Linn, Jacqueline Ann, Bejagam, Karteek Kumar, Banerjee, Shounak, Dumont, Joseph Henry, Nam, Sang Yong, Kang, Hyun Woo, Park, Chi Hoon, Pilania, Ghanshyam, Iverson, Carl Nicholas, Marrone, Babetta Louise, & Lee, Kwan-Soo. Biodegradation Studies of Polyhydroxybutyrate and Polyhydroxybutyrate-co-Polyhydroxyvalerate Films in Soil. United States. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24087638
Kim, Jihyeon, Gupta, Nevin Stephen, Bezek, Lindsey Bernadette, Linn, Jacqueline Ann, Bejagam, Karteek Kumar, Banerjee, Shounak, Dumont, Joseph Henry, Nam, Sang Yong, Kang, Hyun Woo, Park, Chi Hoon, Pilania, Ghanshyam, Iverson, Carl Nicholas, Marrone, Babetta Louise, and Lee, Kwan-Soo. Fri .
"Biodegradation Studies of Polyhydroxybutyrate and Polyhydroxybutyrate-co-Polyhydroxyvalerate Films in Soil". United States. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24087638. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1990142.
@article{osti_1990142,
title = {Biodegradation Studies of Polyhydroxybutyrate and Polyhydroxybutyrate-co-Polyhydroxyvalerate Films in Soil},
author = {Kim, Jihyeon and Gupta, Nevin Stephen and Bezek, Lindsey Bernadette and Linn, Jacqueline Ann and Bejagam, Karteek Kumar and Banerjee, Shounak and Dumont, Joseph Henry and Nam, Sang Yong and Kang, Hyun Woo and Park, Chi Hoon and Pilania, Ghanshyam and Iverson, Carl Nicholas and Marrone, Babetta Louise and Lee, Kwan-Soo},
abstractNote = {Due to increased environmental pressures, significant research has focused on finding suitable biodegradable plastics to replace ubiquitous petrochemical-derived polymers. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a class of polymers that can be synthesized by microorganisms and are biodegradable, making them suitable candidates. The present study looks at the degradation properties of two PHA polymers: polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polyhydroxybutyrate-co-polyhydroxyvalerate (PHBV; 8 wt.% valerate), in two different soil conditions: soil fully saturated with water (100% relative humidity, RH) and soil with 40% RH. The degradation was evaluated by observing the changes in appearance, chemical signatures, mechanical properties, and molecular weight of samples. Both PHB and PHBV were degraded completely after two weeks in 100% RH soil conditions and showed significant reductions in mechanical properties after just three days. The samples in 40% RH soil, however, showed minimal changes in mechanical properties, melting temperatures/crystallinity, and molecular weight over six weeks. By observing the degradation behavior for different soil conditions, these results can pave the way for identifying situations where the current use of plastics can be replaced with biodegradable alternatives.},
doi = {10.3390/ijms24087638},
journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Online)},
number = 8,
volume = 24,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Apr 21 00:00:00 EDT 2023},
month = {Fri Apr 21 00:00:00 EDT 2023}
}
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