Design of a composition based on polyethylene and marble microparticles that decomposes under the effect of ultraviolet radiation
Among the issues related to the disposal of polymers’ waste is the design of cheap biodegradable polymeric materials, which are destroyed as a result of natural microbiological and chemical processes. Since the synthesis of biodegradable polymers is characterized by high material and energy costs, the filled biodegradable polymeric materials are more promising.
This paper substantiates the feasibility of using marble microparticles as a filler for the biodegradable polymeric material based on high-pressure polyethylene whose decomposition rate increases under the conditions of ultraviolet radiation.
Samples of the biodegradable polymeric material with the different content of a filler, the microparticles of marble (from 0 to 5.1 % by weight), were made; their physical-mechanical properties were investigated. It has been experimentally proven that UV radiation destroys polyethylene macromolecules into separate fragments with the formation of >C=O bonds, making it possible to decompose appropriate waste under the influence of sunlight.
The feasibility of using the composition “high-pressure polyethylene – microparticles of marble” with a marble content of 1.78 % by weight has been confirmed for the manufacture of the sleeve and flat polymeric films for packaging and agricultural purposes, in particular, packing stretch film.
Recommendations have been given on using the proposed biodegradable polymeric material. In particular, it is proposed that the production of articles from the “high-pressure polyethylene – microparticles of marble” composition should utilize a pre-obtained granulate of the required formulation. When making articles from the composition obtained directly in the extruder that molds the products, it is possible to apply adhesive additives to improve the interaction between a polymeric matrix and the filler’s particles
How to cite paper:
Petukhov, A., Shnyruk, O., Mikulionok, I., Gavva, O., & Kryvoplias-Volodina, L. (2020). Design of a composition based on polyethylene and marble microparticles that decomposes under the effect of ultraviolet radiation. Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies, 6(6 (108), 102–110. https://doi.org/10.15587/1729-4061.2020.216835