MATERIALS | AGRICULTURAL FILM
Right: Aimplas says that
mulching with anti-fungal film can combat fungal growth in watermelon crops
polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) material – when combined with PLA – could help to speed up the composting of agricultural film. PHA is made industrially using bacterial
fermentation, in various carbon-chain lengths. “Many bacteria produce and use PHA as an
energy storage material,” said Vuurens. “Theoretically, more than 150 types of PHA can be created.”
PHAs can also be crystalline, semi-crystalline or amorphous – which leads to a variation in properties. Crystalline PHA, for instance, has a flexural strength of around 1400MPa, while that of amorphous PHA is around 4MPa. The material is also far more biodegradable than materials such as PLA – with both amorphous and semi-crystalline versions biodegrading under both industrial and home composting conditions – as well as in soil and the sea. “PHA is enzymatically digested, while synthetic
biodegradable polymers are hydrolysed,” he said. CJ Bio and PLA manufacturer NatureWorks
recently created a partnership to develop materials based on their PHA and PLA portfolios. One area is to combine the two in products such as agricultural film in order to improve properties
and speed up composting. Adding 5-10% amorphous PHA to PLA can help to make the film more ductile, said Vuurens. In addition, it could speed up industrial composting – though he stressed that tests were still ongoing, and not yet conclusive. Because of this, he said it could find wide use in agricultural film, as it will biodegrade quickly in soil – meaning that it can be left on the land at the end of the season. In a small screening study, it did not affect cabbage yield compared to commercial PE and
BG PLAST IMPIANTI s.r.l. Via Venezia 232 21050 Marnate - Italy Phone: +39 0331 365 865
info@bgplast.it
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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