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Properties and biodegradation modeling of abiotically treated modified-cobalt stearate filled polypropylene films

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Abstract

The present work studies the effects of abiotic pretreatment on the properties and biodegradability of the modified cobalt stearate pro-degradant filled polypropylene films, and on the eco-toxicity of their biodegraded products. Before abiotic pretreatment, their processability was confirmed by rheological studies. After abiotic pretreatment, FTIR revealed their carbonyl index increased on increasing the pro-degradant loading. Their GPC results showed significant decrease in molecular weight, thus indicating chain scission and intermediate formation. Their thermal stability also reduced as demonstrated by TGA. Their DSC and XRD analyses showed decreased crystallinity thereby indicating increased biodegradability. Their biodegradation was measured following ASTM D 5338, which showed a significant increase with abiotic pretreatment and the same was substantiated by GPC. The biodegradation kinetics followed Komilis model which showed that the degradation rate reached a maximum of 0.407–0.730% per day at 15–25th day. Readily hydrolysable carbon and its hydrolysis rate constant substantially enhanced with modified pro-degradant content. High readily hydrolyzable carbon rate constant caused the occurrence of a prominent growth phase. SEM also confirmed that the surface morphology of each film became increasingly rougher subsequent to both abiotic and biotic treatments, and with increasing pro-degradant loading. The eco-toxicity tests confirmed the nontoxicity of biodegraded products. The work thus illustrated that the films can have useful packaging applications.

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Abbreviations

ASTM:

American Society for Testing and Materials

CaSt:

Calcium stearate

CEL:

Microcrystalline cellulose

CFU:

Colony forming units

CoSt:

Cobalt stearate

CuSt:

Copper stearate

DDR:

Draw-down ratio

DSC:

Differential scanning calorimetry

DTA:

Differential thermal analysis

DTG:

Differential themogravimetry

FeSt:

Iron stearate

FTIR:

Fourier transform infrared

HDPE:

High-density polyethylene

HT-GPC:

High-temperature gel permeation chromatography

ISO:

International Organization for Standardization

LDPE:

Low-density polyethylene

LLDPE:

Linear low-density polyethylene

MFI:

Melt flow index

MgSt:

Magnesium stearate

MnSt:

Manganese stearate

OECD:

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

PDI:

Polydispersity index

PE:

Polyethylene

PDI:

Polydispersity index

PHA:

Poly(hydroxyalkanoates)

PHB:

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)

phr:

Parts per hundred of resin

PLA:

Polylactic acid/polylactide

PP:

Polypropylene

RID:

Refractive index detector

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

TG:

Thermogravimetry

TGA:

Thermogravimetric analysis

TOC:

Total organic carbon

UV:

Ultraviolet

XRD:

X-ray diffraction

ZnSt:

Zinc stearate

C :

Duration of lag phase during the initial phase of biodegradation before the onset of CO2 production

C aq0 :

Initial mineralizable intermediate carbon (%)

C m0 :

Initial moderately hydrolysable solid carbon (%)

CO 2 :

Carbon dioxide

CO 2 (Th) :

Theoretical carbon dioxide

C r0 :

Initial readily hydrolysable solid carbon (%)

C s0 :

Initial slowly hydrolysable solid carbon (%)

Da :

Dalton

G' :

Storage modulus

G" :

Loss modulus

\(\Delta H_{c}\) :

Enthalpy of crystallization

\(\Delta H_{f}\) :

Enthalpy of fusion

k aq :

Rate constant for mineralizable water-soluble C-CO2

k m :

Moderately first-order hydrolysis rate constant

k r :

Readily first-order hydrolysis rate constant

k s :

Slowly first-order hydrolysis rate constant

\(\overline{{M_{n} }}\) :

Number average molecular weight

\(\overline{{M_{w} }}\) :

Weighted average molecular weight

MPa :

Mega Pascal

T :

Absolute temperature (K)

T c :

Crystallization temperature

T g :

Glass transition temperature

T i :

Initial degradation temperature

T m :

Melting temperature

\(T_{\max }\) :

Maximum degradation temperature

T f :

Final degradation temperature

X c :

Degree of crystallinity

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Acknowledgements

The project file number for this research work is 22(00745)/17/EMR-II, and all of the authors are grateful to CSIR (GoI) for financial support. For his invaluable advice, we especially thank Dr. P. K. Bajpai, retired professor at TIET in Patiala, Punjab. For the compounding facilities used in this work, we would want to thank Dr. V. Goel of IOCL Faridabad, India.

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All the data obtained and generated during this study are provided in the paper and supplementary material. Any clarification will be provided on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, 411037, Pune, Maharashtra, India

    Sunil Sable

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, (Deemed to Be University), Patiala, 147004, Punjab, India

    Sanjeev Ahuja

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  1. Sunil Sable
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Sable, S., Ahuja, S. Properties and biodegradation modeling of abiotically treated modified-cobalt stearate filled polypropylene films. Iran Polym J 32, 1607–1626 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13726-023-01228-y

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