Influence of Black Alder Bark Extractives as Integral Building Blocks on the Susceptibility to Biodegradation of Resilient Polyether Polyurethanes †
Laboratory of Lignin Chemistry, Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry, 1006 Riga, Latvia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Presented at the International Conference EcoBalt 2023 “Chemicals & Environment”, Tallinn, Estonia, 9–11 October 2023.
Proceedings 2023, 92(1), 57; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023092057
Published: 29 November 2023
(This article belongs to the Proceedings of International Conference EcoBalt 2023 "Chemicals & Environment")
In response to the increasing demand for environmentally friendly materials and the necessity of effective end-of-life management [1], this study investigates the susceptibility of innovative polyurethanes (PUs) that incorporate plant extractives to biodegradation. The PUs were synthesized using polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, polyol PEG 400, and tetrahydrofuran as a solvent, with NCO/OH ratios of 1.0, 0.8, and 0.5 [2]. Partial or complete substitution of the conventional PEG 400 polyol with black alder bark extracts as bio-polyols was performed. Degradation tests were conducted in sewage water and compost-enriched soil [3,4]. The susceptibility to biodegradation was assessed through weight loss measurements, FTIR spectroscopy, and biological oxygen demand (BOD) analysis [5,6,7]. After 2 months, conventional PUs exhibited weight losses of 9.6% in soil and 12.4% in water. Complete replacement of PEG 400 with bark-sourced polyol increased weight loss to 15.6% in soil and 15.7% in water. The reference biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) film displayed weight losses of 35.6% in soil and 15.0% in water. BOD measurements indicated that PUs, particularly those containing bio-based building blocks, supported microbial metabolism, corroborating previous findings [8]. The incorporation of bark extractives significantly enhanced the susceptibility of PUs to biodegradation, resulting in a reduction of up to 45% in the intensity of FTIR spectral peaks associated with the urethane functional group (-NHC(=O)-O-), compared to a maximum reduction of 11% for conventional PUs. Moreover, it displayed increased peak intensities for O-H and N-H stretches after biodegradation, exhibiting a notable negative correlation with changes in peak intensities for N-CO-O, C-O-C, and C-N vibrations following PU biodegradation. This indicates the formation of hydroxyl and amino groups resulting from the hydrolysis of various chemical bonds within the polyurethane network, facilitated by the integration of bark extractives. This work emphasizes the potential of bark-derived building blocks in the design of PU materials suitable for biological recycling while recognizing the need for further investigation into the optimal agents and conditions for the biological conversion of the latter.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, J.P. and A.A.; methodology, A.A.; validation, J.P., A.A., M.P. and O.B.; formal analysis, J.P., M.P. and O.B.; investigation, J.P.; data curation, J.P.; writing—original draft preparation, J.P.; writing—review and editing, J.P., A.A., M.P. and O.B.; visualization, J.P., A.A., M.P. and O.B.; supervision, A.A.; project administration, A.A.; funding acquisition, A.A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research was funded by the Latvian Budget—the State Research Programme Nr. lzp-2021/1-0207.
Institutional Review Board Statement
Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement
Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement
Data will be made available on request.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Ponomarenko, J.; Pals, M.; Bikovens, O.; Arshanitsa, A. Influence of Black Alder Bark Extractives as Integral Building Blocks on the Susceptibility to Biodegradation of Resilient Polyether Polyurethanes. Proceedings 2023, 92, 57. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023092057
AMA Style
Ponomarenko J, Pals M, Bikovens O, Arshanitsa A. Influence of Black Alder Bark Extractives as Integral Building Blocks on the Susceptibility to Biodegradation of Resilient Polyether Polyurethanes. Proceedings. 2023; 92(1):57. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023092057
Chicago/Turabian StylePonomarenko, Jevgenija, Matiss Pals, Oskars Bikovens, and Alexandr Arshanitsa. 2023. "Influence of Black Alder Bark Extractives as Integral Building Blocks on the Susceptibility to Biodegradation of Resilient Polyether Polyurethanes" Proceedings 92, no. 1: 57. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023092057
