Challenges in Sustainable Degradability of Bio-Based and Oxo-Degradable Packaging Materials during Anaerobic Thermophilic Treatment

Magdalena Zaborowska, Katarzyna Bernat, Bartosz Pszczółkowski, Irena Wojnowska-Baryła and Dorota Kulikowska
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Magdalena Zaborowska: Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Katarzyna Bernat: Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Bartosz Pszczółkowski: Department of Materials and Machines Technology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, ul. Oczapowskiego 11, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Irena Wojnowska-Baryła: Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Dorota Kulikowska: Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 16, 1-19

Abstract: Although the manufacturers labelled commercially available bio-based products as biodegradable, there are discrepancies concerning the time frame for their sustainable biodegradation and methane production. Starch-based, polylactic acid-based and oxo-degradable foils were anaerobically treated in thermophilic condition (55 °C, 100 days). The effect of alkaline pretreatment on foils degradation was also investigated. To examine changes in their mechanical and physical properties, static tensile tests and microscopic analyses, FTIR and surface roughness analyses were conducted. Despite the thermophilic condition, and the longer retention time compared to that needed for biowaste, a small amount of methane was produced with bio-based foils, even after pretreatment (ca. 30 vs. 50 L/kg VS) and foils only lost functional and mechanical properties. The pieces of bio-based materials had only disintegrated, which means that digestate may become contaminated with fragments of these materials. Thus, providing guidelines for bio-based foil treatment remains a challenge in waste management.

Keywords: biopolymers; starch- and polylactic acid-based material; methane production; surface roughness; tensile strength; FTIR and microscopic analyses (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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