Abstract
Three high molecular weight (120,000 to 200,000 g mol−1) polylactic acid (PLA) plastic films from Chronopol (Ch-I) and Cargill Dow Polymers (GII and Ca-I) were analyzed for their degradation under various temperature and relative humidity (RH) conditions. Two sets of plastic films, each containing 11 samples, were randomly hung in a temperature/humidity-controlled chamber by means of plastic-coated paper clips. The tested conditions were 28, 40, and 55°C at 50 and 100% RH, respectively, and 55°C at 10% RH. The three tested PLA films started to lose their tensile properties when their weight-average molecular weight (M w) was in the range of 50,000 to 75,000 g mol−1. The average degradation rate of Ch-I, GII, and Ca-I was 28,931, 27,361, and 63,025 M w/week, respectively. Hence, GII had a faster degradation rate than Ch-I and Ca-I under all tested conditions. The degradation rate of PLA plastics was enhanced by the increase in temperature and relative humidity. This trend was observed in all three PLA plastics (Ca-I, GII, and Ch-I). Of the three tested films, Ch-I was the first to lose its mechanical properties, whereas Ca-I demonstrated the slowest loss, with mechanical properties under all tested conditions.
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Ho, KL.G., Pometto, A.L. & Hinz, P.N. Effects of Temperature and Relative Humidity on Polylactic Acid Plastic Degradation. Journal of Polymers and the Environment 7, 83–92 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021808317416
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021808317416