The aim of this research was to study the biodegradation of a polymer derived from castor oil, which is a renewable, natural material that is a practical alternative for the replacement of traditional polyurethane foams. Due to its molecular structure, which contains polyester segments derived from vegetable oil, the polymeric surface is susceptible to microorganism attack. This study tested the biological degrading agent that was in contact with the microorganisms resulting from microbiological grease degrading agents, when foam was inoculated. Solid-media agar-plate tests were conducted for their potential to evaluate the biodegradation of polymeric particles by specific strains of microorganisms during 216 hours. The growth rate was defined. This technique provides a way of distinguishing the degradation abilities of microorganisms from the degradability of materials
The aim of this research is to study the biodegradation of a polyurethane derived from castor oil, which contains polyester segment in its molecular structure, thus becoming susceptible to the microorganisms attack. The biodegradation of polyurethane was tested in contact with microorganisms resulting from microbiological grease degrading agents, in appropriate liquid media, with a duration of 156 days. The study was done by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetry (TG) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy with accessory for attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR). The results suggest that the degradation of polyurethane derived from castor oil occurs. TG curves are used in order to indicate the biodegradation, showing changes between the thermal behavior of the samples that were inoculated with microorganisms and control. In the FTIR-ATR spectra, there are detectable changes between the spectra of control and attacked specimens; this suggests that degradation occurs, with the decreased intensity of the absorption band at 1042 cm-1, corresponding to the esters links
Os poliuretanos são polímeros obtidos pela reação dos grupos isocianatos (NCO) com grupos hidroxilas (OH) se apresentando como um bicomponente na forma de um pré-polímero com grupos isocianato livres e um poliol com grupos hidroxilas livres. Neste trabalho estudou-se a biodegradação microbiológica de um poliuretano derivado de óleo vegetal, com diferentes razões OH/NCO, que foram colocados em meio de cultura contendo Aspergillus niger sp, por um período de 156 dias. Os resultados foram avaliados utilizando a técnica de análise térmica TG/DTG.
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