Biodegradable composite materials based on polyethylene and natural polymers. I. Mechanical and thermal properties

The influence of the nature and the content of some filling materials of na tural origin, such as unmodified and chemically modified wood flour, starch , lignin and dextrin, capable of inducing biodegradation of synthetic polym ers, upon the properties of low density polyethylene, has been studied. Gen erally, it was observed that, on introduction of 10-30% filling material in to the polyethylene composition, its physico-mechanical characteristics dec rease, but the products obtained on the basis of these mixtures can be used in various fields of application. A moderate increase in the physio-mechan ical properties was recorded for polyethylene/wood flour modified with acry lamide mixtures, as compared with mixtures of polyethylene/non-modified woo d flour. The apparent thermal stability of polyethylene decreases with an i ncrease in the filling material content. The results reported in this paper will help us in processing of data regarding the biodegradation process of composite materials based on polyethylene and the natural polymers mention ed above.