Environmental Impact on Biodegradation Speed and Biodegradability of Polyethylene and Zea Mays Starch Blends

Abstract

Several studies projected that by year 2025, 4.3 billion urban residents will be generating about 2.2 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste per year, over 10% of which will be plastics. The landfills in Nigeria are uncontrolled and do not conform to the international standards of similar operations elsewhere in the world; this makes the disposal of synthetic polymers in the soil even more hazardous. Due to the availability and relative inexpensiveness of Zea mays in Nigeria, this study explores the use of this natural polymer, blended with low density polyethylene (LDPE) as an alternative to synthetic plastics. Biodegradability of the biopolymer blend was observed while buried in loamy sand soil with properties similar to the soil found in the general area of the study. The results showed that a polymer blend with 50% LDPE (50 CoS) by weight had the most uniform weight loss over the period of the study. Under the soil conditions given in the study, 50 CoS also had the steadiest rate of degradation. Hence 50% LDPE (wt.%) blended with Zea mays starch is the optimal ratio with regard to the degradability of biopolymer in loamy sand soil Ota,

Archives of Environmental Protection

“…The compounds most susceptible to degradation are polymers of natural origin such as lignin and cellulose which creates a good possibility for moisture penetration into material (Spiridon et al 2019). In the case of traditional plastics (as well as bioplastics, e.g., polymers with the addition of corn starch), the fragmentation of the material is also of additional importance (Abioye et al 2019, Markowicz & Szymańska-Pulikowska 2019. Low temperature (below 10°C) decomposition is also effective due to the experiment with corn starch foil and total decomposition in compost conditions in 14-21 days and in 15-29 days in soil environment.…”

“…The lack of increase in CO 2 production, shown in the form of horizontal sections in the graph, is due to the airing of the containers and a temporary slowdown in the decomposition process. A significant degree (70% on day 21) of LDPE film decomposition with 50% starch content was also recorded at lower temperatures during the experiment in soil (Abioye et al 2019).…”

Challenges and Future Prospective of Alternative Materials to Silica Sand for Green Sand Mould Casting: A Review

“…They observed that in the ferrochrome slag mould, rapid heat loss occurs than silica sand mould. The fast heat loss indicates a high cooling rate and affects casting microstructure [96][97][98][99][100]. The ferrochrome slag casting (grey iron casting) has a small and more fine-sized graphite flake than silica sand mould casting.…”

Polypropylene and some Esterified Plants' Fibers Bio-based Composites

“…Synthetic polymers are recognized as major solid waste environmental pollutants. Another problem is disposal of agricultural plastic wastes [2][3][4]. To provide greener environment there is a greater need for sustainable technologies and more friendly alternatives [5].…”

“…The environmental, safety and economic challenges required the alternation of petrochemical based polymers with bio-based ones [6,7]. Due to its properties such as high impact strength, high tensile strength, good chemical resistance, low density (0.92 g/cm 3 ), and also rather low cost, polypropylene is used widely in industrial applications. Recently, progresses in improving polypropylene composites: materials have widened remarkably the demands for new applications of this material.…”