Effects of packaging materials and storage conditions on properties of polyglycolic acid

doi:10.19491/j.issn.1001-9278.2025.04.004

Abstract

Abstract:

Polyglycolic acid （PGA） usually has a high degradation rate， which leads to poor storage stability and short shelf life. In this study， the effects of different packaging materials， atmospheres inside the packages， and storage temperatures on the properties of PGA pellets were systematically investigated. The packaging materials evaluated in this work included low density polyethylene （PE⁃LD） and PE⁃LD/polyamide internal packaging materials and aluminum/plastic composite external packaging material. Air， nitrogen， and vacuum were used as packaging atmospheres. The storage temperatures were set to be ‒16， 5， and 25 ℃. The melt flow rates， molecular weights and molecular weight distributions， and thermal properties of PGA were assessed after different storage times， and the effect of packaging conditions on the degradation of PGA were analyzed. The results indicated that there was an increase in the melt flow rates of PGA with a variation of storage temperature along with a correspondingly decrease in its molecular weight. Both the moistures of the packaging atmospheres and the moisture barrier properties of the packaging materials influenced the degradation and properties of PGA.

Key words: biodegradable polymer, polyglycolic acid, degradation, packaging material, packaging condition

CLC Number:

TQ325

XIE Yingluan, ZHOU Bing, WANG James Hongxue. Effects of packaging materials and storage conditions on properties of polyglycolic acid[J]. China Plastics, 2025, 39(4): 20-24.

Figures/Tables 8

样品	包装材料		气氛	储存温度/°C
样品	第一层（内层）	第二层（外层）	气氛	储存温度/°C
1	PE/PA包装袋	铝塑复合包装袋	氮气	-16
2	PE⁃LD/PA包装袋	铝塑复合包装袋	氮气	5
3	PE⁃LD/PA包装袋	铝塑复合包装袋	氮气	25
4	-	铝塑复合包装袋	真空	-16
5	PE⁃LD/PA包装袋	铝塑复合包装袋	真空	-16
6	铝塑复合包装袋	铝塑复合包装袋	真空	-16
7	PE⁃LD包装袋	铝塑复合包装袋	真空	-16
8	PE⁃LD/PA包装袋	铝塑复合包装袋	真空	5
9	PE⁃LD包装袋	铝塑复合包装袋	真空	5
10	PE⁃LD包装袋	铝塑复合包装袋	真空	25
11	PE⁃LD/PA包装袋	铝塑复合包装袋	真空	25
12	PE⁃LD/PA包装袋	铝塑复合包装袋	空气	-16

Tab.1. Experimental design of PGA packaging and storage conditions

Fig.1. Schematic diagram of intra⁃fiber and interfiber structure of PGA folded microfiber model and schematic diagram of hydrolysis mechanism of PGA

Fig.2. MVR curves of PGA versus storage time at different storage temperatures

Fig.3. The change of Mn and Mw of PGA pellets versus storage time at different storage temperatures

Fig.4. DSC curves of PGA pellets stored at -16 ℃ and 5 ℃ at 0 month and in eighth month

Fig.5. MVR curves of PGA versus storage times under different storage atmospheres

Fig.6. The change of Mn and Mw of PGA pellets with storage time at different storage atmosphere

Fig.7. MVR curves of PGA versus storage times using different packaging materials at different storage temperatures

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