Degradable Polyethylene Films Containing Crosslinked Potato Starch

News source: Rural Development
Administration (RDA), Suwon, Korea
For further information, Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology 32,6: 1298-1305, 2002-05-01

Films Containing 5% Potato Starch

Potato starches were crosslinked with 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0% epichlorohydrin. Starch/polyethylene(PE) cast films were prepared to contain 5% of the crosslinked potato starch. The mechanical properties and degradability of these films were measured, and compared to those of films containing native potato starch.

Mechanical Strength

The mechanical strength of the films containing crosslinked potato starch was higher than that of the film containing native starch.

Biodegradability

Thermal degradability, measured by a FT-IR and an Instron, showed that crosslinked starch/PE films degraded faster than native starch/PE films. Thus, the biodegradability of the starch/PE films was increased by the addition of crosslinked starch to the PE films.

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