Thermal analysis of soil-buried oxo-biodegradable polyethylene based blends.

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) blended with poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and additivated with pro-oxidant were soil buried for 180 days and characterized using thermogravimetry (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). TG data showed that both onset and maximum rate degradation temperatures decreased as a function of biodegradation time. Apparent activation energies ( Ea) using the Broido integral method decreased with the burial time increasing. PE crystallinity degree values increased in general up to 2 months of biodegradation. At the end of the soil burial (SB) test these values decreased principally for samples that were previously thermo-oxidized in an oven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]