Degradation of biodegradable diapers as an element circular economy in waste containing various plastics

Czarnecka, Elżbieta; Walczak, Maciej; Kumar, Gopalakrishnan; Piechota, Grzegorz; Nowaczyk, Jacek

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134426

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Eisenia fetida is a species of earthworm widely found in India. It is commonly known as red wiggler worm or manure worm and is used in the process of vermicomposting [5].These worms were collected from the Biocentre in Hulimavu, Bengaluru. Firstly, compost was freshly prepared by adding kitchen waste such as vegetable and fruit peels, hay, wastepaper, dry leaves, and water.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to recent statistics, every year around 12.3 billion used sanitary pads and 20 billion pieces of used diapers are dumped into landfills in India alone. The current study aims to use earthworm species Eisenia fetida in degrading sanitary napkins and baby diapers by vermiremediation [2]. Eisenia fetida is a species of earthworm that is used both domestically and industrially.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eisenia Fetida: A Bioremedial Worm for Sanitary Napkins and Diapers

et al. 2024

IJFMR

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Sanitary napkins and baby diapers are widely used around the world by menstruating women and babies. Once used, they are either dumped in landfills or incinerated which releases harmful gases such as carbon monoxide into the environment. Such material contains plastic, cotton, and synthetic substances which take hundreds of years to bio-degrade under normal conditions, hence polluting the earth's surface. The present study aims to use the earthworm species Eisenia fetida to fasten the process of biodegradation. Layers of fresh compost (which included waste materials, cow dung slurry, and water, were allowed to decompose for 15 days), cow dung, Eisenia fetida, fine compost, hay, used and unused sanitary napkins and diapers, and water were used to set up the experimental setting for degradation. The weights of the napkins and diapers initially and weekly were observed which ultimately decreased. Used diapers were set up for four to five weeks, and their weight decreased from 103g to 17.3g once every seven days, bacteria were isolated from vermicompost and the earthworms' gut by cultivating them on nutrient agar plates. Gram staining was used to further define the bacterial colonies. Gram-positive cocci, bacilli, Gram-negative rods, cocci, and bacilli containing spores and other variety in the bacterial population was seen. According to the results of the current study, vermiremediation is a very efficient, environmentally benign, and zero-waste approach for the disposal of sanitary napkins that can be used widely to reduce environmental contamination caused by them.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eisenia Fetida: A Bioremedial Worm for Sanitary Napkins and Diapers

et al. 2024

IJFMR

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“…The direct use of paper in packaging is, however, limited by the following characteristics: (i) its hydrophilicity, which results in limited water resistance; (ii) low oil barrier characteristics; and (iii) environmentfriendly material for microorganisms, which increases the possibility of their development if paper arrives into direct contact with food items [12]. Biodegradable materials have been used as an alternative material due to their sustainability, degradability, and environmental friendliness [13][14][15][16][17]. Paper coated with polymers is a successful method to provide moisture and gas-tightness protection in food packaging.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eco-Friendly Poly (Butylene Adipate-co-Terephthalate) Coated Bi-Layered Films: An Approach to Enhance Mechanical and Barrier Properties

Venkatesan,

Alagumalai,

Vetcher

et al. 2024

Polymers

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In this research work, a coated paper was prepared with poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) film to explore its use in eco-friendly food packaging. The paper was coated with PBAT film for packaging using hot pressing, a production method currently employed in the packaging industry. The coated papers were evaluated for their structural, mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties. The structural morphology and chemical analysis of the coated paper confirmed the consistent formation of PBAT bi-layered on paper surfaces. Surface coating with PBAT film increased the water resistance of the paper samples, as demonstrated by tests of barrier characteristics, including the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), oxygen transmission rate (OTR), and water contact angle (WCA) of water drops. The transmission rate of the clean paper was 2010.40 cc m−2 per 24 h for OTR and 110.24 g m−2 per 24 h for WVTR. If the PBAT-film was coated, the value decreased to 91.79 g m−2 per 24 h and 992.86 cc m−2 per 24 h. The hydrophobic nature of PBAT, confirmed by WCA measurements, contributed to the enhanced water resistance of PBAT-coated paper. This result presents an improved PBAT-coated paper material, eliminating the need for adhesives and allowing for the fabrication of bi-layered packaging.

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“…Plastic materials have emerged as lightweight, electrically, and thermally insulating, good-strength alternatives with applications in various fields like automotive, construction, agriculture [2], food, medicine, etc., and have become irreplaceable in everyday life [3,4]. The main flaw of plastic materials is that their life span is very small compared to the time required for their degradation in environmental conditions; therefore, their footprint is recognizable and traceable for decades [5,6]. Moreover, in order to improve their versatility, in the manufacturing process certain amounts of other chemicals are added (i.e., catalysts, dyes, plasticizers, flame retardants, etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on the Biodegradation Process of D-Mannose Glycopolymers in Liquid Media and Soil

et al. 2023

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Polymers derived from natural raw materials have become of great interest due to their increased biodegradable features and possible biocompatibility. Our group has successfully synthesized and characterized polymers derived from D-mannose oligomer (M), 2-hydroxy propyl acrylate (HPA), and methacrylate (HPMA) in different weight ratios. Their biodegradation was studied in liquid media with pure Proteus mirabilis inoculum for the samples with the most sugar residue, and the results show that the methacrylate derivative M_HPMA1 lost about 50% of its weight during incubation. SEM/EDX techniques were employed to display the modifications of the samples during the biodegradation process. The glycopolymers were buried in garden soil, and the experiment proved that more than 40% of the weight of the M_HPA1 sample was lost during biodegradation, while the other samples encountered an average of about 32% weight loss. The biodegradation profile was fitted against linear and polynomial mathematical models, which enabled an estimate of about a year for the total degradation of the D-mannose glycopolymers sample in soil.

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Degradation of biodegradable diapers as an element circular economy in waste containing various plastics

Cited by 5 publications

References 41 publications

Eisenia Fetida: A Bioremedial Worm for Sanitary Napkins and Diapers

Eisenia Fetida: A Bioremedial Worm for Sanitary Napkins and Diapers

Eco-Friendly Poly (Butylene Adipate-co-Terephthalate) Coated Bi-Layered Films: An Approach to Enhance Mechanical and Barrier Properties

Study on the Biodegradation Process of D-Mannose Glycopolymers in Liquid Media and Soil

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