{
  "abstract": "Conventional low-density poly(ethylene) (LDPE) agricultural mulch films generate persistent plastic waste, which has motivated the development of biodegradable mulch films (BDMs) that can provide adequate performance during use while offering improved end-of-life options. Here, composite films containing poly(lactic acid) (PLA), poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), and hydroxyapatite (HA) were evaluated for their material properties and suitability as agricultural mulches. Correlation analysis and Elastic Net regression were used to examine composition–property relationships. PBAT primarily governed ductility and tensile performance, whereas MCC significantly increased water absorption because of its hydrophilic character. Water absorption was the most reliably modeled response (training R2 = 0.893), while mechanical property models showed limited validation performance, which indicates that composition alone could not fully predict unseen formulations. Several formulations met commercial BDM mechanical requirements. Multi-objective optimization predicted a composition of 9.3/80.7/3.5/6.5 wt% PLA/PBAT/MCC/HA. The combined experimental and modeling framework clarifies composition–property relationships in biodegradable polymer composites and demonstrates how data-driven approaches can guide the formulation of biodegradable agricultural mulch films.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Otto H. York Chemical and Materials Engineering Department, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 138 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07102, USA",
    "Department of Data Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 138 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07102, USA",
    "The French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 8499000, Israel",
    "Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sde Boker Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 8499000, Israel",
    "Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 138 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07102, USA"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Nikki Rodriguez",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9384-2383"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Wei Ding"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Lekhana Sandra"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Camila Martinez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Riddhi Deepak",
      "orcid": "0009-0008-4753-4647"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ilya Gelfand",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8576-0978"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Osnat Gillor"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Murat Guvendiren",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3475-1051"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lisa Axe"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/704dn1pzqf33e.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/polym18212617",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "704dn1pzqf33e",
  "issns": [
    "2073-4360"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2617",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2502|biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223231513",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-22",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/704dn1pzqf33e.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:44Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/polym18212617",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2617"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2502|biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Data-Driven Design of PLA/PBAT/MCC/HA Composites for Biodegradable Mulch Films",
  "title_text": "Data-Driven Design of PLA/PBAT/MCC/HA Composites for Biodegradable Mulch Films",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:44Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/704dn1pzqf33e",
  "venue": "Polymers",
  "versions": []
}