MSU Technologies

Tunable Degradation of Fibers

Executive Summary

Degradation of polymeric materials is an important process in recycling, composting and rendering them innocuous to the environment. Controlling the rate by which the materials degrade remains challenging and impacted by the nature of the materials and their use in applications where combinations of materials exist to fulfil product property requirements. MSU researchers have developed a novel process controlling the rates of degradation of mixtures of compounds that involve chemochemical cascades. Applications are illustrated by mixing PLA fibers with cellulose acetate fibers demonstrating a significant increase in the degradation of cellulose acetate.

Description of Technology

This technology is method of controlling the degradation rates of mixtures of two compounds whereby the degradation of the first material influences the degradation of the second. The degradation of the second component then provides a feedback signal that impacts the first material. A wide variety of compounds are possible including, but not limited to esters, polyesters, biopolymers, polyamides, polyurethanes, carbohydrates and proteins. Considerable work has been done using solutions of polylactic acid (PLA) degraded with cellulose acetate fibers in the range of 100^oC to 175^oC. In this specific case, the degradation of PLA yields lactic acid, which accelerates the degradation of the cellulose acetate fibers increasing its hydrolysis rate constant by up to 400%.

Benefits

Tunable rates of degradation of mixtures of polymers
Up to 400% increase in cellulose acetate hydrolysis rate with added PLA fibers
Applicable to polymeric and non polymeric systems
Wide variety of compound chemistries possible. Applicable to degradation mechanisms including hydrolysis, acidolysis, aminolysis, etc.

Applications