Aliphatic copolyesters

A large number of aliphatic copolyesters based on petroleum resources are biodegradable copolymers. They are obtained by the combination of diols such as 1,2-ethanediol, 1,3-propanediol, and 1,4-butadenediol and of dicarboxylic acids such as adipic, sebacic, and succinic acid. 

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Nagata M, Machida T, Sakai W, and Tsutsumi N. Synthesis characterization and enzymatic degradation of network aliphatic copolyesters. J Polym Sci A Polym Chem, 1999, 37, 2005-2011. 

Fu, H., Kulshrestha, A. S., Gao, W., and Gross, R. A. 2003. Physical characterization of sorbitol or glycerol containing aliphatic copolyesters synthesized by lipase-catalyzed polymerization. Macromolecules, 36, 9804—9808. 

Nowadays, various aliphatic copolyesters based on succinate, adipate, ethylene glycol and 1,4-butanediol are being produced. Aliphatic polyesters based on natural feedstock such lactic acid are also being produced on a commercial scale by companies such as NatureWorks TLC. 

Adipic acid aliphatic copolyesters Biodegradable polyester used in degradable plastic... 

Blends of poly(3-hydroxyalkanoic acid)s (PHAs) with various natural and synthetic polymers have been reported as reviewed in Refs. [21,22]. By blending with synthetic polymers it is expected to control the biodegradability, to improve several properties, and to reduce the production cost of bacterially synthesized PHAs. The polymers investigated as the blending partners of PHAs include poly(ethylene oxide) [92, 93], poly(vinyl acetate) [94], poly(vinylidene fluoride) [95], ethylene propylene rubber [94, 96], po-ly(epichlorohydrin) [97, 98], poly(e-caprolactone) [99], aliphatic copolyesters of adipic acid/ethylene glycole/lactic acid [100] and of e-caprolactone/lactide... 

New Approaches to the Synthesis of Crystalline Fiber-Forming Aliphatic Copolyesters... 

Aliphatic copolyester Poly(butylenesuccinate[Pg.162]

BIOPAR BIOP Biopolymer Technologies (Germany) Aliphatic copolyesters Starch-based... 

Biograde B-F Cardia Bioplastics (China) and Biograde Limited (Australia) Aliphatic copolyesters Plasticized starch-based... 

A large number of biodegradable polyesters are based on petroleum resources, obtained chemically from synthetic monomers [Okada, 2002 Albertsson and Varma, 2002 Vert et al., 1995 Sinclair, 1996 Lunt, 1998 Steinbuchel, 2003 Bigg, 1996]. According to the chemical structures, we can distinguish polycaprolactone, aliphatic copolyesters, and aromatic copolyesters. All these polyesters are soft at room temperature [Averous and Pollet, 2012]. 

Compared with totally aliphatic copolyesters, aromatic copolyesters are often based on terephthalic diacid. BASF markets a product, Ecoflex, which is a copolyester of butanediol, adipic acid, and dimethyl terephthalate. Eastman s Eastar Bio Copolyester is similar aliphatic/aromatic copolyester. DuPont markets a modified PET known as Biomax [Chauhan, 2012]. 

The partial degradation method has given good results in the case of the MS analysis of aromatic copolyesters, copolycarbonates, aliphatic copolyesters of microbial origin, copolyesters containing a photolabile unit in the... 

The sequence distribution of four poly(ether-sulfone)/poly(ether-ketone) (PES/PEK) copolymer samples were determined by FAB-MS analysis of their oligomers obtained by controlled partial degradation with sodium methox-ide in dimethyl sulfoxide solution. As for the aliphatic copolyesters discussed above, the sequential arrangements of ether-sulfone/ether-ketone units in these copolymers were estimated by a best-fit minimization method using the MAC04 algorithm. ... 

Aromatic-aliphatic copolyesters derived from poly(butylene terephtalate) BASF, Eastman Chemical... 

In this article, in connection with our previous endeavor, we would like to report synthesis and properties of new copolyesters having ordered comonomer sequences consisting of mesogenic units and polymethylene spacers, i.e., thermotropic aromatic-aliphatic copolyesters having sequentially ordered structures ... 

Montaudo G, RizzareUi P (2000) Synthesis and enzymatic degradation of aliphatic copolyesters. Polym Degrad Stab 70 305-314... 

Rizzarelli, R, Impallomeni, G., and Montaudo, G. (2004) Evidence for selective hydrolysis of aliphatic copolyesters induced by lipase catalysis. Biomacromolecules, 5, 433-444. 

Compared to totally aliphatic copolyesters, aromatic copolyesters are often based on terephthalic acid. Figure 17.2 and Table 17.2 show, the chemical structure and the properties of such products, respectively, (e.g., Eastar Bio from Eastman). Besides, BASF and DuPont commercialize aromatic copolyesters under Ecoflex (Steinbuchel and Doi 2002) and Biomax trademarks, respectively. Biomax shows a high terephthalic acid content that modifies some properties such as the melting temperature (200°C). But, according to Muller et al. (1998), an increase of terephthalic acid content tends to decrease the degradation rate. Ecoflex biodegradation has been analyzed by Witt et al. (2001). They concluded that there is no... 

Aliphatic copolyesters have been used with several ceUulosic fibers (Wollerdorfer and Bader 1998), bamboo hbers (Nakamura et al. 2006) or flax, oil palm, jute, or ramie hbers (Wollerdorfer and Bader 1998). 

Poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate)/PLA Blends Poly(butylene succinate adipate), poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate), or poly(butylene succinate-co-butyl-ene adipate) (PBSA) is a random aliphatic copolyester comprised of 1,4-butanediol, succinic acid, and adipic acid [157]. PBSA has lower thermal properties (Tg of —45°C, Tc of 50-53°C, I m of 93-95°C, crystallinity of 20-35%, and HDT at 0.45 MPa of 69°C), more flexibility (tensile strength of 34 7 MPa, tensile elongation of 400-900%, and flexural modulus of 323-340 MPa), and a faster biodegradation rate than PBS [142, 157]. PBSA/PLA blends are immiscible, and a complicated cocontinuous phase (domains of the other polymers dispersed in each continuous phase) was observed... 

The biodegradation behaviour and mechanism of aliphatic copolyester poly(butylene succinate-co-butylene achpate) (PBSA) by Aspergillus versicolor isolated from compost was... 

Biodegradation of natural and synthetic copofyesters in two different natural environments, i.e. in compost with activated sludge at a sewage farm and in the Baltic Sea, was studied by Rutkowska et al. [142]. The results revealed that the natural aliphatic copolyester 3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-lydroxyvalerate (PHBV) and its blends with the synthetic aliphatic-aromatic copolyester of 1,4-butanediol with adipic and terephthalic acids degraded faster in compost than in seawater. In both natural environments, blends degraded faster than aliphatic-aromatic copolyester, but at a slower rate than natural component PHBV... 

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