Rheological behavior of FlaxsticTM value added compost blends**

塑料垃圾不仅是垃圾填埋场的一个严重问题，而且由于它们不可生物降解，它们会无限期地存在于环境中。塑料垃圾在环境中的持续存在，石油储备的迫在眉睫的短缺以及垃圾填埋场空间的短缺增加了回收塑料以及生产完全可堆肥的可生物降解聚合物的紧迫性。** 生物降解聚合物是可以被环境中天然存在的微生物分解的聚合物材料。 堆肥是一种受控的生物氧化过程，将可分解的聚合物/塑料转化为二氧化碳、水、无机化合物和生物质。 不幸的是，目前商业上的大部分“生物可降解”塑料在专业工业堆肥设施中的狭窄范围的条件下是真正可堆肥的，并且可能与家庭堆肥不兼容。 这些产品的商业可行性也可能在价格和性能方面受到限制，其更广泛的应用范围取决于新的可生物降解聚合物的合成，以产生具有广泛的理想机械性能的新型材料。 Open Mind Developments（OMD）是一家位于萨斯喀彻温省萨斯卡通的加拿大公司，专注于传统产品的可持续和创新替代品。 我们将与OMD/Pela合作，将加拿大亚麻籽（Canadian Flax Shive）（一种来自加拿大亚麻籽产业的“废弃”副产品）与各种添加剂一起加入ASTM认证的可堆肥和可生物降解的生物塑料材料中，并测试所得聚合物的流变和机械性能。 ****

Plastic trash is not only a serious problem for landfills, but since they are not bio-degradable, they persist in the environment indefinitely. The persistence of plastic trash in the environment, the looming shortage of petroleum reserves, and the shortage of landfill space has increased the urgency to recycle plastics as well as to produce biodegradable polymers that are fully compostable. ** Biodegradable polymers are polymeric materials that can be broken down by naturally occurring microorganisms in the environment. Composting is a controlled process of bio-oxidation that transforms decomposable polymers/plastics to yield CO2, water, inorganic compounds and biomass. Unfortunately, a large segment of currently commercial "biodegradable" plastics are truly compostable in a narrow range of conditions available in specialized industrial composting facilities and may not be compatible with home composting. The commercial viability of these products can also be limited in terms of price and performance and their broader scope of application is dependent upon the synthesis of new biodegradable polymers to result in novel materials with a wide range of desirable mechanical properties.** Open Mind Developments (OMD) is a Canadian company based out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and is focused on sustainable and innovative alternatives to conventional products. We will work with OMD/Pela to incorporate Canadian Flax Shive, a 'waste' by-product from the Canadian Oil Seed Flax industry, along with various additive into ASTM-certified compostable and biodegradable bioplastic materials, and test the rheological and mechanical properties of the resulting polymers. ****