STUDIES ON DEGRADATION OF LDPE BLENDS IN PRESENCEOF METALLIC ADDITIVES

Abstract

Plastics are the source of rising environmental problems since most of them are not used for long-lived applications and find their way into the solid fraction of the municipal solid waste. Most countries are facing difficulty in managing the problems resulting from continuously increasing amounts of plastic wastes. An acceptable solution to this problem is to use degradable plastics, which enter the biological cycle after completing their lifecycle. In this connection, the formulation of environmentally sound degradable polymeric materials and relevant plastic items constitute a key option among those available for the management of plastic waste. In the present study, we have attempted to investigate the degradation behaviour of blown films of LDPE, LLDPE and its blends in the presence of metal stearates, namely iron stearate and manganese stearate. For this purpose, the metallic stearates were synthesized, characterized and compounded with the polyolefins at appropria...