Abstract
The biodegradability of several oligomers from acrylic, methacrylic, 2-hydroxyacrylic, fumaric acids, acrylamide, and their oligomeric copolymers with methyl vinyl sulfide, methyl vinyl ether, and vinyl acetate were studied under aerobic conditions. Certein telomers and cotelomers containing acrylic or methacrylic acids were also studied for their Biodegradabilities. The influence of substituted groups, molecular weight, molecular weight distribution and tacticity on biodegradability was examined. Biodegradation was determined by the oxygen consumption method (JIS K0102).
The biodegradabilities were found to depend on the molecular weight, tacticity and chemical structure of the oligomers. The oligomers from 2000 to 8000 in molecular weight generally had better biodegradability. Syndiotactic poly (sodium methacrylate) was much biodegradable than the corresponding isotactic oligomers. Poly (sodium 2-hydroxyacrylate) with a Mn of 7300 and poly [(sodium 2-hydroxyacrylate) -co- (sodium acrylate)] with a Mn of 4570 showed BOD/ThOD values of more than 40% after 5d and were considered to be readily biodegradable. Copolymers of sodium 2-hydroxyacrylate and sodium acrylate, vinyl acetate, and methyl vinyl ether and sodium acrylate were moderately biodegradable. Acrylate telomers with hydroxyl groups and cotelomers of sodium acrylate and vinyl acetate were also moderately biodegradable. From these results, the introduction of hydroxyl groups to the oligomers appears to promote their biodegradability.
