Abiotic Hydrolysis and Compostability of Blends Based on Cassava Starch and Biodegradable Polymers

Abstract

When associated with polymer blends, starch may improve the biodegradability and compostability of other materials. The objectives of this work were to evaluate the abiotic hydrolysis and the composting process of films obtained from polymer blends between thermoplastic starch (TPS) and three other biodegradable polymers: poly[(butylene adipate)- co -(terephthalate)] (PBAT), poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). PVA/TPS stood out as the most homogeneous blend and the one that showed the highest weight loss, with 46.21% of its initial weight remaining after abiotic hydrolysis tests. On the other hand, PBAT/TPS and PLA/TPS underwent more drastic and rapid degradation during composting in contrast to PVA/TPS. They became very fragmented after 21 days of composting, while the PVA/TPS was visually modified but remained unbroken until day 70. No blend sample exerted negative effects on the quality of the compost.