The attractiveness of synthetic polymers for cell colonization can be affected by physical, chemical, and biological modification of the polymer surface. In this study, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) was treated by an Ar(+) plasma discharge and then grafted with biologically active substances, namely, glycine (Gly), polyethylene glycol (PEG), bovine serum albumin (BSA), colloidal carbon partic...

Blends of LLDPE and LDPE combine the favorable mechanical properties of the LLDPE with the ease of processing of LDPE. Yet, the melt rheological consequences of blending LLDPE and LDPE have received far less attention than have linear/linear or linear/ branched blends (1). Previous reports showed that blends of LLDPE/LDPE were either immiscible or partially miscible (2–5). Considering the compo...

As a significant part of municipal solid waste (MSW), waste cardboard (CB) is a sustainable, inexpensive, and rich source of cellulose. Previous studies of polyolefin/CB composites have reported modest enhancement to major reduction in modulus and major reduction in elongation at break values relative to neat polymer. Here, green hybrids of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP)...

In this research, high oxygen-barrier films were organized based on low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/ ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH)/ polyethylene-grafted maleic anhydride (LDPE-g-MA) compatibilizer. The effects of 10–30 wt. % EVOH and 0–10 wt. % LDPE-g-MA loadings on the properties of final films were evaluated. The morphology of specimens was observed by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM)...

Sequestering semi-polar compounds can be difficult with low-density polyethylene (LDPE), but those pollutants may be more efficiently absorbed using silicone. In this work, optimized methods for cleaning, infusing reference standards, and polymer extraction are reported along with field comparisons of several silicone materials for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and pesticides. In a fi...

The effect of the branch content (BC) and composition distribution (CD) of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) on the thermal and mechanical properties of its blends with LDPE were studied. All blends and pure resins were conditioned in a Haake PolyDrive blender at 190°C and in the presence of adequate amounts of antioxidant. Two metallocene LLDPEs (m-LLDPE) and one Ziegler–Natta (ZN) hexen...

The conductivity of high-resistivity polymer films is dependent on the magnitude of applied electric field, repeated electric field exposure, and sample temperature. A traditional constant voltage method was used, maintained under vacuum to more closely resemble the space environment. Both the strength of the applied voltage and the thickness of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) samples were vari...

We estimate the energy content, the operational energy inputs, and the net energy ratio (NER) of an industrial tubular photobioreactor used for the photosynthetic production of H2 by microalgae. The calculated H2 output of the photobioreactor is based on a range of algal photosynthetic H2 generation efficiencies, and on the application of standard theory for tubular solar collectors. Small diam...

The biodegradation of spent saline bottles, a low density polyethylene product (LDPE) by two selected Arthrobacter sp. under in vitro conditions is reported. Chemical and UV pretreatment play a vital role in enhancing the rate of biodegradation. Treated LDPE film exhibits a higher weight loss and density when compared to untreated films. Arthrobacter oxydans and Arthrobacter globiformis grew be...

PAL measurements were used to study the process of graft polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) to low density polyethylene (LDPE). When the monomer was just sorbed to LDPE, both I, and z, were increased. When MMA was grafted to LDPE, on the other hand, they were decreased. These contrasting results suggests usefulness of the PAL method to study the micro-structures of polymers. Introducti...