2002 Volume 64 Issue 3 Pages 121-125
Recently, various PLA products for agricultural uses have appeared in the market. The purpose of this study is to propose a simplified evaluation method based on the particular degradation characteristics of PLA in primary biodegradation, which could predict degradation time by composting. The authors compared the results with the verification results by composting. We found that PLA products degraded within the expected periods under composting condition. Also, a primary degradation of PLA was greatly influenced by sample shape and polymer structure, but the influence on an ultimate degradation was small. As a result, it was considered that the simplified evaluation method could be effective method to find degradation time of PLA by composting.
