THE EFFECT OF WOLLASTONITE ON THE RESISTANCE OF EPOXY MATERIALS TO PATHOGENIC MICROORGANISMS
The influence of the effective filler wollastonite, both natural and obtained with rice husk ash, on the biodegradation of epoxy materials has been studied. The influence of wollastonite on degradation processes of epoxy materials filled with it under the influence of soil microorganisms was studied. The studies have shown that with the increase of exposure time in the soil there is a regular growth of epoxy materials samples weight which practically does not depend on the phase composition and properties of synthetic wollastonite used as a filler. It is shown that the weight changes during the first 3 months of exposure of samples under anaerobic conditions are lower than under aerobic conditions. It was found that after a year of exposure in the soil, weight changes of materials are almost the same, regardless of oxygen access, so that the acceleration of degradation by oxygen occurs only in the first three months of exposure samples in the soil. The Sturm method shows an increase in the biodegradability of epoxy materials when filled with natural and synthetic wollastonite. This might be caused by a decrease in the density of the mesh structure of epoxy materials, as well as by the porosity of the fillers themselves, which is higher in natural minerals compared to synthesized calcium silicates. It has been revealed that the respiratory activity of soil microbiocenosis is also higher in the case of natural wollastonite when the fillers themselves are exposed in the soil. The results of studies of the development of the fungi Trichoderma asperillum (formerly T. asperillum) on samples of epoxy materials filled with synthetic and natural wollastonite showed an increase in the biodegradation of materials (an increase in the average score from 1-4).