Screening of different methods to establish the biodegradability of packaging materials - a useful tool in environmental risk assessment approach.

摘要

The huge development of petroleum-based synthetic polymers which are unable to degrade inlandfill or compost-like environment had led to serious environmental issues. In recent years, there hasbeen an increasing interest in the use of biodegradable materials for packaging, agriculture, medicineand other areas. A number of blends made from biopolymers can be the alternative of currently usedsynthetic polymeric materials. The most common and potential biopolymers are starch, cellulose, gelatin,chitosan, PLA, PHAs, etc. The main advantage of biopolymers is the capability of full biodegradation ataccelerated rates, breaking down cleanly into simple molecules found in the environment, such as carbondioxide, water or methane, under the enzymatic action of microorganisms, in certain period of time. Themost used methods for biodegrading biopolymers are: mechanical biodegradation process, use of lightand temperature in the biodegradation process and biodegradation in soil or compost, in controlled orenvironmental conditions. The aim of this study is to describe the mechanism of action over thepolymeric materials of each of the processes mentioned above; each of these methods being a usefultool in environmental risk assessment approach.