The development of biodegradable polymers that can be readily degraded by common types of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, etc.) is of great importance. A promising strategy for achieving this goal is the inclusion of natural additives into the synthetic polymer matrix, which provide a nutrient medium for attracting microorganisms to the polymer surface and thereby initiate the process of its biodegradation. Here we present the results of our study on the use of natural rubber as an additive to low-density polyethylene in order to create a polymer compound for rapid biodegradation in soil. Polymer blends based on polyethylene with a natural rubber content of 0 to 50 (wt.%) were obtained by mixing and pressing the ingredients at elevated temperatures, followed by rapid cooling. To study the biodegradation process, the samples were placed in laboratory soil and the degree of degradation was assessed by the amount of weight loss over time. The physical and chemical properties of the samples were monitored by several methods, including tensile testing, optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and others. It has been shown that the presence of natural rubber significantly increases the decomposition rate of the polyethylene-based composites. The greatest effect is observed for samples with a natural rubber content of 50 (wt%). For these samples, the weight loss was more than 40% of the original weight during the time of experiment. Also, on the basis of a comprehensive study of the physical and chemical properties, it was shown that all studied samples of polymer composites based on polyethylene with natural rubber additives have satisfactory mechanical properties sufficient for use as a packaging material. Thus, we conclude that the use of natural rubber as an additive is an effective method for the production of biodegradable materials based on polyethylene.
Ivetta Varyanis a Russian chemist specializing in biodegradable polymers and composites. She studies the influence of external factors (mechanical stress, chemical modification, oxidation, impurities and additives) on the structure, molecular dynamics of polymers and composite materials based on low-density polyethylene with natural rubber additives. She is currently a researcher at a number of institutions, including the Laboratory of Physics and Chemistry of Compositions of Synthetic and Natural Polymers of the Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences and the Center for Collective Use of Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. Also, with the assistance of Ivetta Varyan, in 2021, the Center of the National Technological Initiative was established in the direction of "Technologies for Modeling and Development of Materials with Specified Properties". In 2015 she graduated with honors from Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. In 2020 she completed her postgraduate studies in the specialty "high molecular weight compounds".
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