Degration of a starch based polymer studied using thermal analysis

Biodegradable polymers are being actively pursued as possible solutions to the solid waste disposal dilemma. Plastics require between 6% and 22% starc h concentration in order to be classified as biodegradable; however the abi lity to monitor such levels are limited with poor quantitative correlation. The goal of this research was to introduce a quick and accurate method to measure the removal of the starch from the polymer matrix. A biodegradable copolymer was synthesized with polyacrylonitrile and the removal of starch by amylase treatment followed utilizing thermal analysis, (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.