Étude du vieillissement de biopolymères en milieu marin

Pollution of nature by plastics is a major environmental problem and better management of the lifetime of polymers is a major challenge for the future. In recent years, bio-based and biodegradable polymers, such as polylactide (PLA), or polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) have appeared as an alternative solution in order to solve these problems. One of the limits remains the relative lack of knowledge of their lifetime and degradation behaviour in aqueous environments, and more specifically in the marine environment. In this study natural and accelerated ageing tests were performed under several conditions, distilled water, filtered and renewed seawater and natural seawater, at different temperatures, in order to decouple enzymatic and hydrolytic mechanisms. The aim of this study is to establish a baseline on degradation mechanisms and kinetics, in order to make lifetime predictions of biopolymer behaviour in seawater.Degradation phenomena have been identified. Biodegradation tests were also performed in a marine environment by following the release of CO2. Then, lifetime predictions of the properties of these biopolymers at seawater temperature were made using two different approaches.