Evaluation of Biodegradation-Promoting Additives for Plastics

Abstract

Biodegradation-promoting additives for polymers are increasingly being used around the world with the claim that they effectively render commercial polymers biodegradable. However, there is a lot of uncertainty about their effectiveness in degrading polymers in different environments. In this study, we evaluated the effect of biodegradation-promoting additives on the biodegradation of polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Biodegradation was evaluated in compost, anaerobic digestion, and soil burial environments. None of the five different additives tested significantly increased biodegradation in any of these environments. Thus, no evidence was found that these additives promote and/or enhance biodegradation of PE or PET polymers. So, anaerobic and aerobic biodegradation are not recommended as feasible disposal routes for nonbiodegradable plastics containing any of the five tested biodegradation-promoting additives.

Functionalized cellulose nanocrystals as reinforcement in biodegradable polymer nanocomposites

“…The authors concluded that no biodegradation was observed after the addition of the oxo-degradable additive in PE. Similar results were obtained by other research groups [201] studying the effect of biodegradation promoting additives on the biodegradation of PE and PET. In this study, no evidence was found that these additives promote and/or enhance biodegradation of polymers.…”

“…In this study, no evidence was found that these additives promote and/or enhance biodegradation of polymers. Therefore, the above results lead us to conclude on the need for further understanding about the effect of using biodegradation-promoting additives [201].…”

Computational redesign of a PETase for plastic biodegradation by the GRAPE strategy

“…Earth's ecosystem is approaching a planetary-scale transformation as a result of human influence 1 . Nowadays, a wide variety of petroleum-based synthetic polymers are produced worldwide to the extent of 20-fold increase over the five decades since 1960s and a slowdown of this trend is not expected 2 .…”

Effect of the Prodegradant-Additive Plastics Incorporated on the Polyethylene Recycling

“…Several countries have begun to face the problem by implementing restrictive and regulatory laws regarding the production and use of plastics. New formulations of polymers have been proposed to obtain degradable materials whose final ecological and physical footprint is much smaller [1,2].…”