Preparation and characterization of biodegradable poly(vinyl alcohol)/starch blends

Abstract

Poly(vinylalcohol) was blended with a fairly acetylated cassava starch and made into film of various percentages. Their mechanical properties, biodegradability and surface morphology were estimated and studied. The poly(vinyl alcohol)/starch blends show good modulus and biodegradability that make it suitable for disposable packaging applications in which 50 percent starch/Poly(vinyl alcohol) blends shows a modulus of approximately 199100Nm^-2 and 59.25 percent weight lost after 18 days of standard biodegradation test.

Keywords: Starch, Acetylation, Biodegradation, Poly(vinyl alcohol), Polymer blend.