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Abstract
Characteristics of a newly developed environmentally friendly biocomposite material, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) modified with lactose and calcium lactate, potential fillers, byproduct of dairy industry, are reported in the present paper. Sample films containing 0, 10, 20, 33 and 42 wt-% of filler were prepared by conventional solvent casting into acrylic plates. Morphological, mechanical and thermal properties of PVA, PVA–lactose and PVA–calcium lactate composites were studied by optical microscopy, stress–strain analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy–attenuated total reflectance (FTIR–ATR), differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and also the biodegradability was tested. The films were thin and transparent, and became gradually white with increasing concentration of the filler. Optical microscopy and FTIR–ATR analysis of PVA–lactose and PVA–calcium lactate confirmed that they are composite materials. Their mechanical properties increased up to 33 wt-% filler. The glass transition temperature also decreased with rising content of filler, which indicates the influence of moisture absorbed by the composites (confirmed by TGA measurements). Poly(vinyl alcohol) modification with lactose showed that the biodegradability is improved in aqueous environment.