Skip to main content

Official Journal of the Japan Wood Research Society

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Plasticization of cellulose derivatives by reactive plasticizers II: characterization of plasticized cellulose acetates and their biodegradability

Abstract

A plasticization method for cellulose acetates (CAs) has been developed that is based on the reaction with dibasic acid anhydrides and monoepoxides during the melting processing. As a continuation of the discussion in the previous report, additional evidence is presented for the role of grafting oligoesters onto cellulose acetates to prevent the bleeding of homo-oligoesters from the inside of molded articles to their surface. Based on these results, a method for enhancing the amount of grafting has been pursued by varying the combination of dibasic acid anhydrides and monoepoxides. The resulting reactive meltprocessing method allows preparation of biodegradable cellulosic plastics using practical process conditions. Higher biodegradability has been found for the oligoester-grafted CAs than for the unmodified parent CAs.

References

  1. Yoshioka M, Miyazaki T, Shiraishi N (1996) Plasticization of cellulose derivatives by reactive plasticizers. I. Mokuzai Gakkaishi 42:406–416

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Buchanan CM, Gardner RM, Komarek RJ (1993) Aerobic biodegradation of cellulose acetate. J Appl Polym Sci 47:1709–1719

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Komarek RJ, Gardner RM, Buchanan CM, Gedon SC (1993) Biodegradation of radiolabeled cellulose acetate and cellulose propionate. J Appl Polym Sci 50:1739–1746

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Gu J, Eberiel DT, McCarthy SP, Gross RA (1993) Cellulose acetate biodegradability upon exposure to simulated aerobic composting and anaerobic bioreactor environments. J Environ Polym Degrad 1(2):143–153

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Gu J, Eberiel DT, McCarthy SP, Gross RA (1993) Degradation and mineralization of cellulose acetate in simulated thermophilic compost environments. J Environ Polym Degrad 1(4):281–291

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Gardner RM, Buchanan CM, Komarek RJ, Dorschel D, Boggs C, White AW (1994) Compostability of cellulose acetate films. J Appl Polym Sci 52:1477–1488

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nobuo Shiraishi.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Yoshioka, M., Okajima, K., Miyazaki, T. et al. Plasticization of cellulose derivatives by reactive plasticizers II: characterization of plasticized cellulose acetates and their biodegradability. J Wood Sci 46, 22–31 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00779549

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00779549

Key words