Open Access

ARTICLE

Enzymatic Degradation of Poly(butylenesuccinate)/ Thermoplastic Starch Blend

by Anna Kundys¹, Justyna Ostrowska², Urszula Chojnacka¹, Zuzanna Grodzka¹, Aleksandra Lange¹, Magdalena Paluch²

1 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Food Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences -SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159c, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
2 Department of Organic Technologies, New Chemical Syntheses Institute, Al. Tysiąclecia Państwa Polskiego 13A, 24-110 Puławy, Poland

*Corresponding author:

Journal of Renewable Materials 2018, 6(6), 611-618. https://doi.org/10.32604/JRM.2018.00134

Abstract

The degradation of thermoplastic starch blend in the presence of commercial α-amylase and unpurified amylase of microbial origin was investigated. The blends consisting of thermoplastic starch and poly(butylene succinate) have potential use in packaging applications thus, it is essential to establish susceptibility to degradation. Molar mass loss, gravimetric weight loss, and molecular structure were evaluated. The changes in the surface were observed with scanning electron microscopy. It was confirmed that there was a significant difference in gravimetric weight loss between the blends degraded in two different solutions. Unpurified enzymes of microbial origin, produced by Rhizopus oryzae cultures decomposed analyzed materials more efficiently than purified commercial ones. Moreover, it was proved that in applied conditions, the molar mass of PBS fraction did not change significantly.

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Citations