In this work, blends of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), the most widespread member of the
polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), with wood fibres were investigated to assess the feasibility of producing
biodegradable materials suitable for applications in packaging and agricultural environment. Due to its high
crystallinity, PHB is stiff and brittle resulting in very poor mechanical properties with low extension at break,
which limits its range of application. PHB was compounded successfully with wood fibres up to 30 % by weight
in presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG) by extrusion. The composites were characterized by differential
scanning calorimetry (DSC) and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Their mechanical properties were
tested by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and tensile tests. Preliminary tests in soil were carried
out on the samples with wood fibres in order to investigate their biodegradation behavior, and further tests
were performed in compost. Polyethylene glycol resulted effective as lubricating agent for the production of
composites based on PHB and fibres. The good preliminary biodegradability results in soil showed that the
blends PHB/wood fibres appear suitable for the production of natural fibre-reinforced thermoplastic items
degradable in agricultural environment