Degradation of Cellulose Derivatives in Laboratory, Man-Made, and Natural Environments

Abstract

Biodegradable polymers complement recyclable materials in battling plastic waste because some products are difficult to recycle and some will end up in the environment either because of their application or due to wear of the products. Natural biopolymers, such as cellulose, are inherently biodegradable, but chemical modification typically required for the obtainment of thermoplastic properties, solubility, or other desired material properties can hinder or even prevent the biodegradation process. This Review summarizes current knowledge on the degradation of common cellulose derivatives in different laboratory, natural, and man-made environments. Depending on the environment, the degradation can be solely biodegradation or a combination of several processes, such as chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis, photodegradation, and oxidation. It is clear that the type of modification and especially the degree of substitution are important factors controlling the degradation process of cellulose derivatives in combination with the degradation environment. The big variation of conditions in different environments is also briefly considered as well as the importance of the proper testing environment, characterization of the degradation process, and confirmation of biodegradability. To ensure full sustainability of the new cellulose derivatives under development, the expected end-of-life scenario, whether material recycling or “biological” recycling, should be included as an important design parameter.

Cellulose as sacrificial agents for enhanced photoactivated hydrogen production

“…Erdal et al studied the degradation of CMC, establishing that the hydrolysis dramatically decreased when the degree of substitution was higher than 1. 70…”

“…Erdal et al studied the degradation of CMC, establishing that the hydrolysis dramatically decreased when the degree of substitution was higher than 1. 70 From the above, it is expected that using these cellulose derivatives as sacricial agents will ameliorate hydrogen production. This is also clearly observed in Fig.…”

Synthesis and Characterization of MoS 2 Nanoflowers Decorated Amino Cellulose Derivatives: An Innovative Approach for Anticancer Therapeutics

“…Figure 6b) represents the mass remaining at different time intervals. Polymers are large molecules and show degradation by extracellular enzymes [47]. AC and AC-MoS 2 were incubated with collagenase type II for 24 hours and the remaining mass was evaluated.…”

In-soil degradation of polymer materials waste – A survey of different approaches in relation with environmental impact

“…Naturally abundant polymers such as cellulose, lignin, and their derivatives are among the most biodegradable ones due to their easily recognition by a microbiota already adapted to use them as substrates by producing highly specific enzymes such as glucosidases, respective phenoloxidases. However, higher crystallinity and polymerization degree, as well as chemical modifications, delay the cellulose mineralization (Erdal and Hakkarainen 2022), while impregnations with antimicrobial nanoparticles were effective for silver, but not in the case of copper oxides (Milošević et al 2017;Tomšič et al 2022). Lignins degrade more slowly than glycosidic bonded cellulosic materials due to the presence of multiple phenolic moieties linked by random C-C and C-O bonds and its rigid, three-dimensional structure (Donnelly et al 1990;Thevenot et al 2010;Hall et al 2020).…”

“…There are slower degradation rates for polylactic acid PLA and polybutylene succinate PBS, and also the rate is sluggish in the case of polyethylene terephthalate PET (Al Hosni et al 2019;Larrañaga and Lizundia 2019;Qi et al 2022). Polyester biodegradation could be improved by copolymerization, as is the case of polybutylene adipate terephthalate PBAT, insertion of natural polyols, adipate and succinate diols in polyurethanes, or by mixing with additives or other biodegradable polymers like modified celluloses and PLA in blends or composites (Brdlik et al 2022;Erdal and Hakkarainen 2022;Schöpfer et al 2022).…”