Obtaining of Biodegradable Composite Films Based on Polyethylene and Pectin

Abstract

In this work, biodegradable polymer films based on a modified pectin low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composition were obtained, where a graft copolymer of LDPE with maleic anhydride (LDPE-g-MA) was used as a compatibilizer. Chemical modification of pectin was carried out by grafting acrylamide using cerium ammonium (IV) nitrate as an initiator. The characteristics of the graft copolymer and the resulting composition were studied by FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The degree of grafting was determined to be 71% and the yield of the final product was 14.2% of copolymerization. It was shown that the polymer composition is susceptible to biodegradation, and a weight loss of 23% during 45 days was revealed.