Graft Copolymers of Lignin with 1-Ethenylbenzene. 2. Properties

The graft copolymerization of lignin and 1-ethenylbenzene was coinitiated by lignin, calcium chloride, and hydrogen peroxide in dimethyl sulfoxide solution. Conversion of 1-ethenylbenzene and yield of polymerized product of 90% or more were obtained. The copolymerization reaction changes the hydrodynamic radius of the product. Grafting has changed the surface properties of the original lignin from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The copolymerization product is a thermoplastic material. White rot Basidiomycete were able to biodegrade styrene (1-ethenylbenzene) graft copolymers of lignin containing different proportions of lignin and poly(1-phenylethylene). The polymer samples were incubated with white rot Pleurotus ostreatus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, and Trametes versicolor and brown rot Gleophyllum trabeum. White rot fungi degraded the plastic samples at a rate which increased with increasing lignin content in the copolymer sample. Both poly(1-phenylethylene) and lignin components of the copolymer were re...