Effect of environmental parameters on the degradability of polymer films in laboratory-scale composting reactors

Gu, Ji‐Dong; Yang, Shunjuan; Welton, R. L.; Eberiel, David; McCarthy, Stephen P.; Gross, Richard A.

doi:10.1007/bf02074781

Cited by 42 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…In the same group, Nelson et al [15] isolated a series of CA degrading Pseudomonas strains as a part of the degradation study. In 1994, Gu et al [16] demonstrated that the time required for CA degradation under laboratory composting conditions was dependent on the variation in the mixture composition of the compost especially the water content. These researchers also determined the DS of the CA material after 35-50% weight loss and found that there was no significant change in DS of the residual material.…”

Section: Biological Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degradation of Cellulose Acetate-Based Materials: A Review

Puls¹,

Wilson

Hölter³

2010

J Polym Environ

514

321

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Cellulose acetate polymer is used to make a variety of consumer products including textiles, plastic films, and cigarette filters. A review of degradation mechanisms, and the possible approaches to diminish the environmental persistence of these materials, will clarify the current and potential degradation rates of these products after disposal. Various studies have been conducted on the biodegradability of cellulose acetate, but no review has been compiled which includes biological, chemical, and photo chemical degradation mechanisms. Cellulose acetate is prepared by acetylating cellulose, the most abundant natural polymer. Cellulose is readily biodegraded by organisms that utilize cellulase enzymes, but due to the additional acetyl groups cellulose acetate requires the presence of esterases for the first step in biodegradation. Once partial deacetylation has been accomplished either by enzymes, or by partial chemical hydrolysis, the polymer's cellulose backbone is readily biodegraded. Cellulose acetate is photo chemically degraded by UV wavelengths shorter than 280 nm, but has limited photo degradability in sunlight due to the lack of chromophores for absorbing ultraviolet light. Photo degradability can be significantly enhanced by the addition of titanium dioxide, which is used as a whitening agent in many consumer products. Photo degradation with TiO 2 causes surface pitting, thus increasing a material's surface area which enhances biodegradation. The combination of both photo and biodegradation allows a synergy that enhances the overall degradation rate. The physical design of a consumer product can also facilitate enhanced degradation rate, since rates are highly influenced by the exposure to environmental conditions. The patent literature contains an abundance of ideas for designing consumer products that are less persistent in the outdoors environment, and this review will include insights into enhanced degradability designs.

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Section: Biological Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degradation of Cellulose Acetate-Based Materials: A Review

Puls¹,

Wilson

Hölter³

2010

J Polym Environ

514

321

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“…Uncharacterized mixed cultures have also been used to study degradation and deterioration of polymeric materials [34,35,40,41,81,[169][170][171], concrete [45,172], and metal corrosion [1,4,29] and degradation of environmental pollutants [16,[173][174][175]. Such approaches together with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) [176], and stable isotope analysis should allow confirmation of the microorganism's involvement in degradation and deterioration at much higher resolution and sensitivity than currently available with traditional techniques.…”

Section: Diagnosis and Confirmationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Direct utilization of natural polymeric materials by microorganisms can also proceed at a high rate because of their structural similarities to other biological materials [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. Microbial degradation of complex (high-molecular-weight) polymers is most likely mediated by extracellular depolymerases because the molecular sizes of these polymers are too large to penetrate through cellular membranes for effective assimilation.…”

Section: A Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The process in which a material is decomposed and altered significantly in chemical and physical terms by microorganisms is called biological degradation or deterioration. Mineralization is designated strictly for complete breakdown of polymer carbon to simple inorganic compounds, and the end products during mineralization are CO 2 and H 2 O under aerobic conditions and CH 4 , H 2 S, CO 2 , and H 2 O under a range of anaerobic conditions [6,41,43]. Complete degradation of synthetic and engineering polymer is seldom achieved by microorganisms because part of the substrate carbon will be immobilized in new microbial biomass and recalcitrant organic matter.…”

Section: A Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microbial Degradation of Materials: General Processes

Ford

Mitchell

2011

Uhlig's Corrosion Handbook

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“…One of them can be successfully used in the biodegradation detection e.g. scanning electron microscopy (SEM), weight loss or respirometry (for mineralization indicate) [13][14][15]. Others can also evaluate the effects and degree of biodegradation caused by microorganism growth e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%