11/24/2021
By Sokny Long

The Frances College of Engineering, Department of Plastics Engineering, invites you to attend a Master’s thesis defense by Nicholas Farfaras on “Biodegradable Mulch Films Produced from Soy-filled Polymer Resins.”

MSE Candidate: Nicholas Farfaras
Defense Date: Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021
Time: 2 to 4 p.m.
Location: This will be a virtual defense via Zoom. Those interested in attending should contact the student, Nicholas_Farfaras@student.uml.edu, and committee advisor, GraceWanTing_Chen@uml.edu, at least 24 hours prior to the defense to request access to the meeting.

Committee Chair (Advisor): Wan Ting (Grace) Chen, Assistant Professor, Department of Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Committee Members:

  • Joey Mead, University Professor, Department of Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Meg Sobkowicz-Kline, Associate Professor, Department of Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Jo Ann Ratto Ross, Deputy Director, DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory

Brief Abstract:

Each year, at the end of the harvest, farmers across the world begin to prepare their fields for the next growing season. One step in this process is to remove any mulch films used to mulch around their crops. This process is time and labor intensive and can cost farmers money and aggravation. A solution to this issue is to use biodegradable materials as a mulch film. A material which shows great promise for use as a biodegradable mulch film is polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT). This material degrades quickly when exposed to moist outdoor conditions, i.e. buried under topsoil, however this material is much more expensive than more conventional non-biodegradable materials, such as low density polyethylene (LDPE) or linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). A common practice in diminishing the cost of expensive resins is to blend the polymer with another, less expensive material, such as a filler or another, less costly resin. One biodegradable material that the US is a leader in producing, and can be used as a filler is soy, and there are many forms of soy-based raw materials.

The primary goal of this research is to produce a soy-filled PBAT resin-based mulch film which exhibits mechanical behavior properties comparable to conventional mulch films which have been historically used in the past, and are contributing to the global plastic waste issue. By modifying the concentration and particle size of soy filler produced from ADM’s Superb soy protein isolate material, the mechanical properties of soy-filled PBAT films can be optimized for decent competition against non-biodegradable mulch films.

All interested students and faculty members are invited to attend the online defense via remote access.