The photodegradation and biodegradation of rEPS/curaua fiber composites

The development of composite materials comprised of postconsumer polymers and natural fibers is important for the possibility to obtain materials that are more compatible with the environment. Depending on the application of these materials and their final disposal, the relevant degradation processes must be considered in the studies of these materials. The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of the degradation process in simulated soil and in the aging accelerated UV chamber on the properties (tensile strength, chemical, morphology) of the composites developed with recycled expanded polystyrene matrix reinforced by curaua fiber. In the tensile strength tests, it was found that the presence of the curaua fiber and the coupling agent did not have significant effect in the degradation processes of the polymer matrix. However, the use of the coupling agent without the addition of fiber curaua promoted the accelerated degradation of the matrix. The carbonyl index was used as the main assessment parameter of the degradation of the composites, since an increasing in the carbonyl index was observed in the initial periods of degradation decreasing for longer time periods. The presence of cracks in the samples following exposure to UV was observed, but no biofilm formation was identified in the samples exposed to the simulated soil. POLYM. COMPOS., 34:967977, 2013. (c) 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers