Composites containing acetylated wheat B-starch for agriculture applications

Abstract

Native and acetylated B-starch was used in biodegradable films after blending with either poly-(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) or ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA). The following mechanical characteristics of prepared films were derived from the stress-strain curves: Young modulus, yield stress, stress-at-break and strain-at-break. Acetylation of starch molecules in the composites reduced the degradation rate in compost. Optical microscopy, combined with the image analysis system NIS-Elements completed with extended depth of focus (EDF) module, was used to study the PCL/starch and EVA/starch films surface morphology during composting. Parameters of the compost used for film exposition were measured.

Keywords

• biodegradable plastic
• polycaprolactone
• ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer
• image analysis
• green waste compost