WEATHERING OF STARCH POLYETHYLENE COMPOSITE FILMS IN THE MARINE-ENVIRONMENT

Polyethylene and starch-polyethylene composite films were exposed outdoors in the strawline of a marsh and in sea water on flow-through seatables in the laboratory. The deterioration of these films following exposure was measured by determining changes in tensile properties, weight loss, starch loss, and carbonyl content of the sheet plastic films. Low rates of deterioration were observed for control and starch-polyethylene composite films submerged in sea water. In contrast, both starch-polyethylene composite and control polyethylene films rapidly deteriorated during exposure in the strawline of a marsh. Differences in the observed rate of deterioration of the films placed in the exposure sites is attributed primarily to photodegradation of the films placed in the strawline of a marsh.