Degradation Potential of Some Biodegradable Polymers: Do they Degrade?

Wijetunge D.S., Ranatunga R.R.M.K.P., Manage, P.M.
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Abstract

Biodegradable products were invented and commercially introduced to curb the catastrophic impacts of non-degradable plastics. These intend to act as a green solution since they are manufactured to degrade in the environment without accumulating as waste plastics. Three commercially available products labeled as ―biodegradable‖ i.e. salad plate (SPL), lunch sheet (LS), and garbage bag (GB), were tested for degradation potential in six different exposure media i.e. seawater (SW), beach-sand (BS), freshwater (FW), freshwater sediment (FWS), compost, and ultra- violate (UV) rays, with controlled and uncontrolled conditions simulating the natural environment. Cellulose filter paper (CFP) was the positive control. SW, FW, FWS, and BS were placed in four separate glass tanks while compost was prepared in a 100L plastic storage box. A UV chamber was fabricated to expose samples to UV radiation. SW tank was equipped with a wave pump, and FW tank was continuously aerated. All samples were cleaned, cut into manageable sizes, inserted in synthetic mesh pockets (except for those exposed to UV), labeled, and placed inside the media in triplicates. UV-exposed samples were directly placed in boiling tubes inside the chamber equipped with 15 W LED UV bulbs providing 280-320 nm irradiation. Initial weights were measured and the weight loss over five months was recorded. Physical parameters including temperature, pH, salinity, and conductivity were measured in each sampling. RAMAN spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy were performed initially to find out the test samples‘ chemical composition and surface structure. CFP and SPL contained cellulose, LS contained Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) and Poly Butylene Adipate Terephthalate (PBAT), and GB contained Poly Ethylene (PE) as major components. Degradation potential was calculated in terms of percentage weight loss with time, and visual remarks of degradation were recorded. The highest weight-loss percentages of CFP (100%), and SPL (100%) were observed in FWS (both in 122 days) and compost (in 92 days, and in 122 days respectively) media. LS showed faster degradation (20% weight loss in 92 days) in compost while GB showed slight fragmentation (2% weight loss in 57 days) under UV during the first five months of sampling. Comparatively minimum signs of degradation were observed in GB in all exposures. CFP, SPL, and LS samples were discoloured and fragmented into small pieces during the degrading process. All products showed lesser degradation potential in SW, FW, and UV exposures. The experiment will be continued further to understand the degradation process.  Keywords: Degradation, Biodegradable products, Abiotic degradation, Plastic pollution
一些生物降解聚合物的降解潜力:它们会降解吗?
可生物降解产品的发明和商业引入是为了遏制不可降解塑料的灾难性影响。这些产品在生产过程中可在环境中降解,不会作为废塑料堆积起来,因此是一种绿色解决方案。我们在海水(SW)、沙滩沙(BS)、淡水(FW)、淡水沉积物(FWS)、堆肥和紫外线(UV)等六种不同的暴露介质中,模拟自然环境的受控和非受控条件,测试了三种市售的 "生物降解塑料 "产品,即沙拉盘(SPL)、餐巾纸(LS)和垃圾袋(GB)的降解潜力。纤维素滤纸(CFP)为阳性对照。SW、FW、FWS 和 BS 分别放在四个独立的玻璃缸中,堆肥则放在一个 100L 的塑料储存箱中。制作了一个紫外线室,用于将样品暴露在紫外线辐射下。SW 罐配有波浪泵,而 FW 罐则持续通气。所有样品均清洗干净,切成易于处理的大小,放入合成网袋(暴露于紫外线的样品除外),贴上标签,并以三份为单位放入培养基中。暴露于紫外线下的样品直接放入室内的沸腾管中,沸腾管中装有 15 W LED 紫外线灯泡,可提供 280-320 nm 的照射。测量初始重量并记录五个月内的重量损失。每次取样都测量了温度、pH 值、盐度和电导率等物理参数。首先进行了 RAMAN 光谱分析和扫描电子显微镜检查,以了解测试样品的化学成分和表面结构。CFP 和 SPL 含有纤维素,LS 含有聚乳酸(PLA)和聚对苯二甲酸丁二醇酯(PBAT),GB 的主要成分是聚乙烯(PE)。降解潜能以随时间变化的重量损失百分比来计算,并记录降解的目测结果。在 FWS(均为 122 天)和堆肥(分别为 92 天和 122 天)培养基中观察到 CFP(100%)和 SPL(100%)的失重率最高。在堆肥中,LS 的降解速度更快(92 天内减重 20%),而 GB 在紫外线下取样的前 5 个月中略有破碎(57 天内减重 2%)。在所有暴露条件下,GB 的降解迹象相对较少。CFP、SPL 和 LS 样品在降解过程中变色并碎裂成小块。所有产品在 SW、FW 和 UV 暴露下的降解潜力都较小。实验将继续进行,以了解降解过程。 关键词降解 生物降解产品 非生物降解 塑料污染
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