Biopolymer Geotextiles Based on Mixtures of Polyhydroxybutyrate and Polylactic Acid

Abstract In this work, studies of the hydrolytic destruction of biodegradable nonwoven fibrous and film materials based on the mixtures of biobased polymers - polyhydroxybutyrate and polylactic acid, have been carried out. Fibers were obtained from a solution in chloroform by electrospinning. It was shown that materials with high content of polylactide had a low resistance to hydrolysis as compared to polyhydroxybutyrate. Nonwoven fibrous materials obtained by electrospinning had a higher water absorption and a high reactivity to hydrolysis, which significantly accelerated (by about 5 times) the biodegradation process under environmental conditions. The degree of hydrolytic destruction of fibrous materials based on polylactide and mixtures with its content of 50 wt.% or more is higher than that of samples enriched with polyhydroxybutyrate. The studied materials can be successfully used as nonwoven geotextiles for reinforcing the soil on the slopes of various types of roads being capable of accelerating the germination of grass cover.