Biodegradation Studies of Polyhydroxybutyrate and Polyhydroxybutyrate-co-Polyhydroxyvalerate Films in Soil
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- 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)
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.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- 89233218CNA000001
- OSTI ID:
- 1990142
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-23-23498
- Journal Information:
- International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Online), Vol. 24, Issue 8; ISSN 1422-0067
- Publisher:
- MDPICopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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