ABSTRACT 9725616 HILTNER This collaboration project joins two Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC) together in a "TIE" project "Biodegradable Microlayered Polymer Composite Systems." The two Centers involved in this two year study are the University of Massachusetts Lowell's I/UCRC for Biodegradable Polymers and the Case Western Reserve University's I/UCRC for Applied Polymers. The I/UCRC for Applied Polymers will generate micro- and nano-layered composite structures using its co-extrusion technology. It will also study and characterize the composites produced for degradation. The I/ UCRC for Biodegradable polymers will study the degradation of kinetics resulting from its soil and compost respirometry tests. The results obtained at the I/UCRC for Biodegradable Polymers will guide the development of composite structures at the I/UCRC for Applied Polymers.
