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Degradation of Polyethylene Designed for Agricultural Purposes

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Abstract

For many years now, scientific articles have been published on the potential biodegradability of polyethylene. Polyethylene (PE) with peroxidant additives, in the form of agricultural films, is sold by various suppliers as biodegradable mulch. Even though, the photo-chemical and thermal degradation of these products under artificial laboratory conditions is highlighted, several extrapolation on the biodegradation and, moreover, on the neutral environmental impact of PE are made. In this study, three different commercial mulch films have been submitted to standardised biodegradation tests and the results are discussed. The first conclusions are that a very low degree of biodegradation of the commercial PE films is achieved from these tests and that crosslinked PE micro-fragments are found in soil after a very long period of time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CEMAGREF, 361, Rue JF Breton, BP 5095, 34033, Montpellier Cedex 1, France

    Pierre Feuilloley

  2. Station Experimentale Horticole de Bretagne Sud, Route du Bono, 56400, Auray, France

    Guy César

  3. Université du Maine, UCO2M – UMR CNRS, 6011Av., Olivier-Messiaen, 72085, Le Mans Cedex 09, France

    Ludovic Benguigui, Sandra Lefaux & Mounia Jamal

  4. Laboratoire Polymères, Propriétés aux Interfaces et Composites, Université de Bretagne Sud, Rue de St Maudé, 56321, Lorient Cedex, France

    Yves Grohens & Isabelle Pillin

  5. ADEME, 2 square, La Fayette, BP 406, 49004, Angers Cedex 01., France

    Hilaire Bewa

Authors
  1. Pierre Feuilloley
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  2. Guy César
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  3. Ludovic Benguigui
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  4. Yves Grohens
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  5. Isabelle Pillin
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  6. Hilaire Bewa
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  7. Sandra Lefaux
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  8. Mounia Jamal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yves Grohens.

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Feuilloley, P., César, G., Benguigui, L. et al. Degradation of Polyethylene Designed for Agricultural Purposes. J Polym Environ 13, 349–355 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-005-5529-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-005-5529-9

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