Study of the biodegradation of a polymer derived from castor oil by scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry and infrared spectroscopy

Abstract

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 …