BIODEGRADABLE CELLULOSE ESTER COMPOSITION AND ARTICLE

摘要

The composition comprising a cellulose ester including at least 10 weight o of a low-substituted cellulose ester having an average degree of substitution not exceeding 2.15 and giving a 4-week decomposition rate of at least 60 weight % as determined using the amount of evolution of carbon dioxide as an indicator in accordance with ASTM D5209. The composition may contains a plasticizer, an aliphatic polyester, a photolysis accelerator such as anatase type titanium dioxide or a biodegradation accelerator such as organic acids and their esters. The low-substituted cellulose ester may be a cellulose ester having an average degree of polymerization from 50 to 250, an average degree of substitution from 1.0 to 2.15 and a residual alkali metal/alkaline earth metal-to-residual sulfuric acid equivalent ratio of 0.1 to 1.1. The biodegradable cellulose ester composition is suitable for the manufacture of various articles including fibrous articles such as tobacco filters.