Degradation Study of Polymers from Renewable Resources and their Compositions in Industrial Composting Pile

Summary: Polyesters produced from renewable resources and susceptible to hydrolysis under the industrial composting conditions offer ecological advantages as compared to thermoplastics polymers and elastomers produced from fossil carbon sources. In this paper the degradation behaviour of polymer compositions of BTA, PLA and a-PHB in natural environment of industrial composting pile, consisting of leaves - 40%, branches - 30% and grass - 30%, have been presented. The extend of degradation was monitored by macroscopic observations of sample surfaces, changes of molecular weight, polydispersity and composition of the tested materials and their weight loss.