Optimizing mechanical and environmental degradation performance of polybutylene adipate terephthalate by adjusting polyvinyl alcohol content

Biodegradable plastics offer a promising alternative to traditional plastics in agriculture, particularly where rapid and controlled degradation is required. This study investigates the properties and degradation behavior of blends of Polybutylene Adipate Terephthalate (PBAT) and Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA). Mechanical testing revealed that incorporating PVA significantly enhanced both tensile and flexural strengths. For example, pure PBAT had a tensile strength of 14.51 MPa, while the 20PBAT/80PVA blend achieved 53.48 MPa. However, higher PVA content led to reduced elongation at break and fracture toughness. Water immersion tests showed that PVA dissolution and PBAT degradation caused notable reductions in mechanical properties after 5 days, with blends containing 80 % PVA exhibiting an 80.1 % weight loss, and the 40PBAT/60PVA blends showing a 41.75 % weight loss after 30 days. Soil degradation experiments confirmed that the degradation rate increased with higher PVA content. These results highlight the superior degradation performance of PBAT/PVA blends and demonstrate that adjusting the PVA content effectively modulates both degradation rates and mechanical properties. This offers valuable insights for the development of environmentally friendly materials.