Identification of several factors affecting biodegradation of aromatic-aliphatic copolyester

Abstract

Aromatic-aliphatic polyesters aspire to be an ecofriendly replacement of conventional non-biodegradable polymers. Biodegradation of studied aromatic-aliphatic copolyester was estimated in soil and compost. The material was introduced into the tests in four forms differing above all by their specific surface. The copolyester in principle proved to be biodegradable under compost conditions. Biodegradation was also tested in five well selected and characterized agricultural soils. Here its biodegradability was not found to be significant. The specific surface of sample specimen was shown to be an important factor affecting the rate of biodegradation in compost, where biodegradation sample forms with higher specific surface was significantly accelerated over sample specimens with low specific surfaces.