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Aerobic Biodegradation of Polymers in Solid-State Conditions: A Review of Environmental and Physicochemical Parameter Settings in Laboratory Simulations

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Abstract

During the last few years, biodegradable polymers have been developed to replace petrochemical polymers. Until now, research devoted to these polymers essentially focused on their biodegradability. There is now a need to bear out their nontoxicity. To verify this, the biodegradation must be carried out in accelerated laboratory tests which allow the metabolites and residues to be recovered. To reproduce the natural conditions (compost, field) as closely as possible, degradation experiments must be run on solid-state substrates. We review studies of aerobic degradation in solid-state substrates. This article focuses in particular on the environmental, physical, and chemical parameters (such as substrate nature, moisture, temperature, C/N ratio, and pH) that influence biodegradation kinetics. This study also aims at finding the solid substrate most adapted to residues and metabolite recovery. The most significant parameters would appear to be the substrate type, moisture content, and temperature. Inert substrates such as vermiculite are well suited to residue extraction. This review also opens the field to new research aimed at optimizing conditions for aerobic solid-state biodegradation and at recovering the metabolites and residues of this degradation process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cemagref, 361 rue JF Breton, BP 5095, 34033, Montpellier Cedex 01, France

    Sophie Grima, Véronique Bellon-Maurel & Pierre Feuilloley

  2. Laboratoire de Chimie Agro-industrielle UMR 1010 INRA/INPT-ENSIACET, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Ingénieurs en Arts Chimiques et Technologiques, 118 route de Narbonne, 31077, Toulouse cedex, France

    Sophie Grima

  3. Laboratoire de Chimie Agro-industrielle UMR 1010 INRA/INPT-ENSIACET, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Ingénieurs en Arts Chimiques et Technologiques, 118 route de Narbonne, 31077, Toulouse cedex, France

    Françoise Silvestre

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Grima, S., Bellon-Maurel, V., Feuilloley, P. et al. Aerobic Biodegradation of Polymers in Solid-State Conditions: A Review of Environmental and Physicochemical Parameter Settings in Laboratory Simulations. Journal of Polymers and the Environment 8, 183–195 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015297727244

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