Abstract
The predominance of fossil raw materials in producing most polymeric materials justifies the growing interest in using renewable sources. This study employed enzymatic degradation followed by biodegradation in activated sludge to assess the biodegradation rate of poly(DGU-BDT) and poly(PDE-BDT) derived from starch oil and bioglycerol. For this purpose, two distinct media were prepared: one containing Lipase B enzyme to evaluate mass loss and another with activated sludge, using Oxitop to quantify the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) consumed (mg O2..L−1), allowing the determination of the biodegradation rate. Additionally, analyses were conducted using Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) to characterize the materials. The analysis revealed that both polymers exhibited intermediate and low levels of biodegradability, reaching approximately 30% and 17%, respectively, for poly(DGU-BDT) and poly(PDE-BDT), compared to the control, which achieved 52%. The SEC of poly(DGU-BDT) showed no change in its molecular weight, while the distribution became monomodal for poly(PDE-BDT). In FTIR, a significant alteration was observed in both materials, indicating the emergence of new bands. The DSC thermograms of poly(DGU-BDT) showed no changes in its behavior, whereas, for poly(PDE-BDT), the absence of the two previously identified temperature peaks was verified. Thus, biodegradation in activated sludge was not confirmed, reaching only 30% biodegradation.
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The data sets used and/or analyzed in this study can be made available by the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—CAPES and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – CNPq for the financial support. To Laboratório de Controle e Processos de Polimerização – EQA/UFSC, the Central de Análises – EQA/UFSC, to Laboratório de Transferência de Massa (LABMASSA) – EQA/UFSC, to Laboratório de Biotecnologia Ambiental (E-BIOTECH) – EQA/UFSC, to Laboratório Integrado de Meio Ambiente (LIMA) DESA/UFSC.
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Azolim, J., Andrade, K.L., Michels, C. et al. Application of enzymatic degradation to enhance the biodegradability in activated sludge of the poly(thioether-ester) polymers. Braz. J. Chem. Eng. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43153-024-00476-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43153-024-00476-6