N. De Prisco, G. Gatta¹, B. Immirzi, M. Malinconico, C. Manera¹, P. Mormile², L. Petti²
Istituto di Ricerca e Tecnologia delle Materie Plastiche,
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Arco Felice (Na) Italy
¹DITEC, Università della Basilicata, Potenza, Italy
²Istituto di Cibernetica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche,
Arco Felice (Na) Italy

Keywords: mulching, biodegradable, polyvinylalcohol, polycaprolactone

Abstract: The use of biodegradable polymer films for mulching is a topic of great interest both from the environmental point of view and for the intrinsic properties that the above films, when appropriately designed, might have. In the present communication, we report on a synthetic approach that, starting from existing biodegradable polymers, leads to a new material characterised by a time controlled biodegradation. The idea that subsides is to bridge polyvinylalcohol (PVA) chains through polycaprolactone (PCL) crosslinks. In such way, PVA looses its water sensitivity and can stand on the ground for the time needed for the mulching to occur, while the PCL cross-links, being sensitive to (slow) fungal attack, will undergo cleavage, followed by the complete bio-assimilation of the residual PVA chains. Time of biodegradation can be controlled by the number of cross-links introduced. The polymers are characterised in their intrinsic chemical-physical properties, while a preliminary evaluation of their efficiency as mulches is obtained through the analysis of their thermal behaviour when deposited on an irrigated soil. The results are also compared with a model approach able to predict the thermal behaviour of a film in specific environmental conditions.

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