An Overview on the Mechanical Behaviour of Biodegradable Agricultural Films

The mechanical behavior of various types of biodegradable materials depends, mainly, on their chemical composition and the application conditions. Various additives are added into the bioblends to improve their properties, which sometimes even reach the levels of the conventional plastics. It is well known that the environmental conditions during production, storage, and usage of these materials influence their mechanical properties. Ageing during the useful lifetime also causes great losses in the elongation. In the present paper, the overall mechanical behavior of biodegradable films, which may be considered suitable for agricultural applications, but also of partially biodegradable films, is reviewed and analyzed. Selected critical mechanical properties of films before their exposure to biodegradation are investigated and compared against those of conventional agricultural films.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]