Impact of Red algae and different Gamma irradiation doses on the physicochemical properties and Biodegradation rate of EPDM/EVA/TPS blend

Algae-based bioplastic were prepared during this work to show the impact of red algae incorporation and gamma irradiation dose on the biodegradation and physicochemical properties of EPDM/EVA/TPS-algae blend. It was found that red algae increasing resulted in increasing of water uptake ratio and decreasing of crosslinking density percentage, also mechanical properties was enhanced by incorporation of red algae from 5 to 20wt.% but further addition of algae i.e. 30wt.% made the sample fragile and decreasing the mechanical properties. While gamma irradiation dose increasing causes decline of mechanical properties and slightly decreasing of both water uptake and crosslinking density percentage which may be attributed to the degradation effect of gamma radiation. Moreover, weight loss percentage in general was found to increase by increasing of gamma radiation dose, and anaerobic biodegradation was higher than that of aerobic one. The irradiated and un-irradiated bioplastic samples of EPDM/EVA/TPS-algae can be used as compostable materials and as soil conditioner which can supply the plant with nutrients through the biodegradation process by microorganisms and are effectively able to improve the Radish plant growth.