Preparation of Organic Crystal Seed and Its Application in Improving the Functional Period of Biodegradable Agricultural Film

White pollution caused by agricultural films has recently attracted great attention. In some areas, the content of micro plastic in the soil has reached 30 kg/ha. The most effective way to solve this problem is to replace traditional polyethylene agricultural films with degradable agricultural films...

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Main Authors: Runmeng Qiao, Xin Wang, Guangjiong Qin, Qi Liu, Jialei Liu, Wenqing He
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
Series:Crystals
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/11/7/826
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author Runmeng Qiao
Xin Wang
Guangjiong Qin
Qi Liu
Jialei Liu
Wenqing He
author_facet Runmeng Qiao
Xin Wang
Guangjiong Qin
Qi Liu
Jialei Liu
Wenqing He
author_sort Runmeng Qiao
collection DOAJ
description White pollution caused by agricultural films has recently attracted great attention. In some areas, the content of micro plastic in the soil has reached 30 kg/ha. The most effective way to solve this problem is to replace traditional polyethylene agricultural films with degradable agricultural films. The consistency between the degradation rate and the crop growth period has become the biggest obstacle for the wide application of such novel agricultural films. In this paper, crystallinity regulation is used to adjust the functional period of degradable agricultural films. In addition, an organic nucleating agent of polyethylenimine (PEI) is selected by doping it to poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) polymers using a double-screw extruder. The PBAT doped with 1 wt% PEI films revealed a significant increase in mechanical properties, water holding capacity, and crystallinity compared with the pure PBAT film. There was a 31.9% increase in tensile strength, a 30.5% increase in elongation at break, a 29.6% increase in tear resistance, a 30.9% decrease in water vapor permeability, and a 3.1% increase in crystallinity. Furthermore, the induction period of PBAT doped with 1 wt% PEI under photoaging (without soil) was about 160 h longer than PBAT film, and the experienced biodegradation in soil (without light) was 1 week longer than PBAT film. Experimental results exhibited that the change of degradation degree was linearly proportional to the degree of crystallinity. This study proposes a convenient, low-cost, and effective method to adjust the crystallinity and change the degradation rate.
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spelling doaj.art-748cdf99b01545f6a8642792fbcb1b132023-11-22T03:33:43ZengMDPI AGCrystals2073-43522021-07-0111782610.3390/cryst11070826Preparation of Organic Crystal Seed and Its Application in Improving the Functional Period of Biodegradable Agricultural FilmRunmeng Qiao0Xin Wang1Guangjiong Qin2Qi Liu3Jialei Liu4Wenqing He5Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, ChinaTobacco Research Institute of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430030, ChinaTobacco Research Institute of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430030, ChinaInstitute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, ChinaInstitute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, ChinaInstitute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, ChinaWhite pollution caused by agricultural films has recently attracted great attention. In some areas, the content of micro plastic in the soil has reached 30 kg/ha. The most effective way to solve this problem is to replace traditional polyethylene agricultural films with degradable agricultural films. The consistency between the degradation rate and the crop growth period has become the biggest obstacle for the wide application of such novel agricultural films. In this paper, crystallinity regulation is used to adjust the functional period of degradable agricultural films. In addition, an organic nucleating agent of polyethylenimine (PEI) is selected by doping it to poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) polymers using a double-screw extruder. The PBAT doped with 1 wt% PEI films revealed a significant increase in mechanical properties, water holding capacity, and crystallinity compared with the pure PBAT film. There was a 31.9% increase in tensile strength, a 30.5% increase in elongation at break, a 29.6% increase in tear resistance, a 30.9% decrease in water vapor permeability, and a 3.1% increase in crystallinity. Furthermore, the induction period of PBAT doped with 1 wt% PEI under photoaging (without soil) was about 160 h longer than PBAT film, and the experienced biodegradation in soil (without light) was 1 week longer than PBAT film. Experimental results exhibited that the change of degradation degree was linearly proportional to the degree of crystallinity. This study proposes a convenient, low-cost, and effective method to adjust the crystallinity and change the degradation rate.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/11/7/826biodegradable polymerscrystallizationphotodegradationsoil biodegradation
spellingShingle Runmeng Qiao
Xin Wang
Guangjiong Qin
Qi Liu
Jialei Liu
Wenqing He
Preparation of Organic Crystal Seed and Its Application in Improving the Functional Period of Biodegradable Agricultural Film
Crystals
biodegradable polymers
crystallization
photodegradation
soil biodegradation
title Preparation of Organic Crystal Seed and Its Application in Improving the Functional Period of Biodegradable Agricultural Film
title_full Preparation of Organic Crystal Seed and Its Application in Improving the Functional Period of Biodegradable Agricultural Film
title_fullStr Preparation of Organic Crystal Seed and Its Application in Improving the Functional Period of Biodegradable Agricultural Film
title_full_unstemmed Preparation of Organic Crystal Seed and Its Application in Improving the Functional Period of Biodegradable Agricultural Film
title_short Preparation of Organic Crystal Seed and Its Application in Improving the Functional Period of Biodegradable Agricultural Film
title_sort preparation of organic crystal seed and its application in improving the functional period of biodegradable agricultural film
topic biodegradable polymers
crystallization
photodegradation
soil biodegradation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/11/7/826
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