Influence of Carnauba Wax on Films of Poly (Butylene Adipate Co-Terephthalate) and Sugarcane Residue for Application in Soil Cover (Mulching)

The population increase, urbanization and climatic change adversely affect the agricultural production have prompted actions to improve the means of production without affecting the environment. One of the actions to make the production of food more efficient and sustainable is the use of plastics in protection of crops, soils and packaging, for example. Therefore, the aim of this work was to develop flat extruded mulch films of poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)/2.5 and 5.0% sugar cane residue/2.0% carnauba wax for application in soil cover and characterize them as to their chemical structure, morphology and transmittance. The FTIR results suggest that there was no chemical interaction between the components of the mulch films. SEM images and optical microscopy showed that the polymer matrix was able to cover sugarcane residues and that the carnauba wax dispersed well in the PBAT matrix. In addition, carnauba wax addition increased the transmittance of these mulch films.人口增长、城市化进程与气候变化对农业生产造成不利影响，这推动了诸多旨在改良生产方式且不损害生态环境的相关举措。其中一项旨在提升粮食生产效率与可持续性的举措，便是利用塑料材料对作物、土壤进行防护以及用于食品包装等场景。为此，本研究旨在制备聚(己二酸丁二醇酯-对苯二甲酸丁二醇酯)(poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate), PBAT)/2.5%与5.0%甘蔗残渣/2.0%巴西棕榈蜡的平挤地膜，以用于土壤覆盖，并对其化学结构、形貌与透光率进行表征。傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）结果表明，该地膜各组分之间未发生化学反应。扫描电子显微镜（SEM）成像与光学显微镜观测结果显示，聚合物基体可有效包覆甘蔗残渣，且巴西棕榈蜡在PBAT基体中分散良好。此外，添加巴西棕榈蜡可提升此类地膜的透光率。