Influence of biodegradation on crystallization of poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)

The biodegradation of aromatic-aliphatic biodegradable polyester poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) was studied under mesophilic (37 degrees C) and thermophilic (55 degrees C) anaerobic conditions. Anaerobic sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plant was utilized as an inoculum. Non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of PBAT before and after biodegradation was explored by differential scanning calorimetry. Under mesophilic anaerobic conditions (37 degrees C), the biodegradation after 126 days was only 2.2%, molecular weight changed from 93 000 to 25 500 g/mol, and the crystallization behavior was changed only slightly. However, biodegradation under thermophilic anaerobic conditions (55 degrees C) caused much bigger changes: biodegradation according to biogas production reached after 126 days 8.3%, molecular weight changed from 93 000 to 9430 g/mol, and the crystallization behavior was changed significantly. While T-m increased only slightly, T-c on the other hand increased significantly for the sample after biodegradation at 55 degrees C. Also, the crystallization rate was slower (particularly at lower cooling rates), but crystallinity was slightly higher. The diffraction pattern was observed by X-ray diffraction.