Abstract:
This research is concerned about studying the characteristics and properties of biodegradable poly(β-hydroxybutyrate) or PHB which is produced from bacterial fermentation and studying the effects of the content of modifying agent, i.e., polypropylene glycol, propylene glycol and epoxidized soybean oil on the mechanical properties of PHB. Two types of PHB were used in this work; Biomer (which is purchased from Biomer Company) and f-PHB (self-fermented and purified in this work). It was found that the mechanical properties of pure Biomer and pure f-PHB1 (first batch of f-PHB) are similar. The thermal properties, i.e., glass transition temperature, melting temperature and degree of crystallinity, of Biomer and f-PHB1 are also very similar. The similarity in the mechanical properties of pure Biomer and f-PHB1 can be supported by the similarity in the thermal properties of Biomer and f-PHB1, For PHB blends, it was found that the maximum tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of all PHB/modifying agent blends gradually decreases with and increasing of the modifying agent content. For the same type of PHB, each modifying agent has a different effect on the %elongation at break of the blends. AT 10-50% of modifying agent, the %elongation at break of the Biomer/modifying agent blends is improved but not more than 9% except the %elongation at break of the f-PHB1/50%PPG blend which is most improved up to 58.82% This maybe due to many reasons such as the fundamental characteristics of PHB caused from different synthesis methods., eg. Molecular weight. From SEM micrographs, it was shown that the morphology of Biomer/PPG and f-PHB1/PPG blends is change with and increasing of PPG content. The surface of pure f-PHB1 and Biomer are similar. The cracking lines are observed on the surface of f-PHB1/30%PPG, f-PHB1/50%PPG and Biomer/50%PPG blends after the tensile testing. The cracking lines noticed on the surface of f-PHB1/50%PPG blends are much more than those seen on the surface of Biomer/50%PPG blends. Different surface morphology of Biomer/50%PPG and f-PHB1/50%PPG blends corresponds to the difference in the %elongation at break of the blends.