Soy Protein Derivatives as Biodegradable Films

Identified needs for new opportunities to enhance agriculture's rold as a reliable supplier of new industrial materials directed the attention to soy protein, an abundant basic agricultural product, to explore its potential as a viable source of such materials. This and the growing interest in using naturally derived biodegradeable substitutes for petrochemically based non-degradable films provided strong incentive to pursue the proposed program. More specifically, this program deals with the development of biodegradable films for use in a growing area of high-value, health and personal care products such as diapers, sanitary napkins, and tampons. Thus, the object of Phase I is to synthesize novel biodegradable thermoplastic derivatives of soy protein, which can be converted to thin films and molded articles. Representative films will be tested for their tensile strength, compliance, water vapor transmission, and biodegradation. Selected compositions will be assessed as candidates for the development of diaper liners, sanitary napkin liners and tampon applicators. For the latter, the melt rheology behavior of sought compositions will be studied to determine their use in injection molding.