Determination of the aerobic biodegradability of polymeric material in a laboratory controlled composting test

U. Pagga*, D. B. Beimborn, J. Boelens, B. De Wilde

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

53 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A laboratory method is presented for investigating the biodegradation of an organic test material in an aerobic composting system based on the evolution of carbon dioxide. In addition to carbon conversion, biodegradation can also be monitored through weight loss and physical disintegration. The test method is different from other biodegradation tests, especially aquatic tests, because of the elevated temperature representative for real composting conditions and also because of enhanced fungal degradation activities. A ring test was run using paper and poly-β-hydroxybutyrate/valerate as test materials and cellulose powder as a reference material. The test results and the experience gained by the participants showed that the method is suitable and practicable. Experience with real technical-scale composting facilities confirms that the method provides test results of high predictive value. The test is designed to become a European Standard in connection with determining the compostability of packagings and packaging materials.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4475-4487
Number of pages13
JournalChemosphere
Volume31
Issue number11-12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1995

Keywords

  • aerobic biodegradability
  • cellulose powder
  • Compost
  • paper
  • poly-β-hydroxybutyrate/valerate

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