Performance of cellulose acetate propionate in polycaprolactone and starch composites: biodegradation and water resistance properties

Abstract

Introducing starch into some polymers such as polycaprolactone (PCL) has been used to produce biodegradable plastics. The existance of a derivative of cellulose such as cellulose acetate propionate (CAP) with starch and PCL combinations might affect the degradation rate of starch when only mixed with PCL. To check whether this was the case, different investigations such as enzymatic degradation, composting trial and water resistance performance over a wide range of different compositions of such composites were studied. It is deducible that the use of cellulose acetate propionate can improve the performance of such composites without a big significantly changing their whole biodegradability. It was found that the presence of cellulose acetate propionate improved the water resistance properties which enable such composites to be used in the packaging industry.