Polyethylene materials remain in the environment for decades. Therefore, slow degradation of polyethylene (PE) caused pollution into the environment. In this work, the raw and isolated starch from Parkia biglobosa (PBS) was employed as reinforcement into Polyethylene. As such, table water sachet was used to fabricate PE/PBS composites. The PE/PBS composite preparation was performed via melt blending method at different loadings of PBS, i.e., 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 wt. %, followed by melt blending to form thin sheets having a dimension of 10.0 × 5.0 × 1.0 mm3. The investigation was carried out to study biodegradation and hydrolytic degradation of the composite materials for six months. The results obtained showed that the blending of PBS have the ability to promote loss of weight in the composites for both Biodegradation and Hydrolytic Degradation respectively. The higher weight losses was observed at higher PBS loading. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy results confirmed the degradation of PBS reinforced PE composite materials.
Key words: Parkia biglobosa Starch, Polyethylene, Environment, Degradation.
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