Impact of ionizing radiation on the properties of a hydrobiodegradable aliphatic - aromatic copolyester

This paper presents the results of the studies on changes of selected quality parameters of hydrobiodegradable aliphatic-aromatic copolyester (AAC). Radiation treatment was performed at the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology in Warsaw, using cobalt gamma-ray sources "Issledovatel" (dose rate 0.389 Gy/h) and "GC 5000" (8.5 Gy/h). The material was subjected to the impact of radiation doses of 5, 10, 20 and 40 kGy. Selected parameters of the packaging material, important from the standpoint of a potential application, have been studied: gaseous products of radiolysis, strength parameters in accordance with PN EN ISO 527-3, global migration PN-EN-1186-1:2002, FT-IR analysis using PCA method, contact angle measurement using the drop shape method. The results have demonstrated that there is no significant influence of ionizing radiation on AAC film parameters. Correlation between doses applied and values of measurements has not been found.