Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXVI, Issue 2
Written by Elisabeta Elena POPA, Maria RÂPĂ, Mihaela GEICU-CRISTEA, Amalia Carmen MITELUŢ, Paul-Alexandru POPESCU, Mihaela Cristina DRĂGHICI, Silvana Mihaela DĂNĂILĂ-GUIDEA, Mona Elena POPA
The extensive production and usage of petroleum based plastic materials represent a great threat to the environment (both terrestrial and marine) due to their properties of slow degradation and landfill accumulation. Therefore, many researches were conducted in order to develop friendly packaging materials, which fulfil the current requirements in terms of biodegradability, bioavailability and compatibility. Among different types of biodegradable materials, polylactic acid (PLA) received more and more attention as green material due to the fact that it is derived from natural and renewable resources and present great physical-mechanical properties. This study aims to present the research conducted for the biodegradability degree determination of some novel biomaterials based on PLA that could be used as packaging materials. The newly developed materials were buried in a natural characterized soil and their biodegradability was determined after 30, 60 and 90 days of maintaining in soil. Furthermore, they were tested from a microbial colonisation and degradation point of view. The results showed low rates of biodegradability for PLA based samples.
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