Activated vermiculite, a solid bed for testing biodegradability under composting conditions

Properties and Biodegradation Nature of Thermoplastic Starch

“…Therefore, liquid or vermiculite media are relevant approaches to assess the compostability of a material which are readily biodegradable like starch, as the mineralization rate at the end of experiment are the same as those obtained with the compost. These results are consistent with those of Starnecker and Menner [Starnecker and Menner 1996 (b)] and Bellia et al [Bellia et al, 1999] which showed similar results of mineralization between a compost environment and inert solid medium (vermiculite) inoculated with an extract of the same compost, respectively, for a plastic bag of starch and a thermoplastic material based on polyurethane, polycaprolactone and starch. However, Van der Zee et al [Van der Zee et al, 1998] found in their study and questioned the relevance of the tests in liquid medium (modified Sturm test) to predict the biodegradation of polymers for biological treatment of waste.…”

Monitoring biodegradation of poly(butylene sebacate) by Gel Permeation Chromatography, 1H-NMR and 31P-NMR techniques

“…the CO 2 evolved from the substrate added with the test material minus the CO 2 evolved from the substrate (blank). As mentioned before, however, the CO 2 is not the only product and, in order to completely describe the biodegradation of a material, it is very important to identify and quantify the possible by-products (Bellia et al, 1999). In fact, the accumulation of slowly or non degradable by-products or residues in soil would mean an overall biodegradability lower than expected and, on the other hand, possible negative effects depending on oxygen uptake for biodegradation, on the possible toxicity of by-products, on the development of competitive biomass, etc.…”

Biochemical and genetic analysis of a cutinase-type polyesterase from a thermophilic Thermobifida alba AHK119

“…Therefore, many researchers focused on aliphatic-co-aromatic polyesters-hydrolyzing enzymes. Several microorganisms containing these enzymes have been isolated from different sources, especially from composts (Kleeberg et al 1998;Bellia et al 1999;Longieras et al 2004) because they contain diverse microorganisms (mesophiles and thermophiles) due to the changes in temperature experienced during the maturing process and the different composting materials used. Diverse polyester-degrading thermophilic actomonycetes have been isolated (Calabia and Tokiwa 2004;Hoang et al 2007;Phithakrotchanakoon et al 2009).…”