Biodegradation behavior of two different chitosan films under controlled composting environment

Abstract

Chitosan has applications in different industries, due to the superior properties, causing an increase in the productionof chitosan containing waste. Although composting is the most suitable method for biodegradable wastes likechitosan, less is known about the degradation of chitosan within the composting environment. In this study,biodegradation behavior of bare chitosan films and neutralized chitosan films were investigated under controlledcomposting environment according to international standards. $CO_2$ emission data showed higher degradation rate ofbare chitosan films compared with neutralized chitosan films, which was also supported by SEM images and digitalphotographs in addition to the TGA and FTIR results. It can be concluded that the biodegradation rate of chitosanfilms under the composting environment is highly related to the amount of glycerol present in the films and theextraction rate of glycerol from film structure.