Biodegradable Plastics Testing and Certification
Time:
Nov 14,2022
1. Advantages over traditional plastics
Biodegradable plastics, also known as biodegradable plastics, are plastics that are degraded by microorganisms in nature (soil, sand, etc.) or under specific conditions (compost, anaerobic digestion, aqueous culture solution, etc.) and eventually degrade completely into carbon dioxide, water and mineralized inorganic salts of the elements they contain, as well as new biomass.
Compared with traditional plastics, the advantages of biodegradable plastics are mainly as follows.
(1) Reduction of carbon emissions
One of the advantages associated with the use of biodegradable plastics is the smaller amount of carbon emissions in the air during the manufacturing of bioplastics. Unlike regular plastics, which produce 4 tons of carbon emissions, bioplastics emit only about 0.8 tons of carbon, which diminishes the greenhouse effect and global warming.
(2) Consume less energy
The manufacturing process of biodegradable plastics requires less energy and does not require the recycling of fossil fuels. In contrast, conventional plastics require more energy in their production and also require the burning of fossil fuels. Because less energy is required, more bioplastics can be produced while reducing environmental pollution.
(3) Less landfill required
Non-biodegradable plastics are sent to landfills for disposal. As a result, land area that could be used for agricultural, residential or industrial applications is converted to landfill. If bioplastics are used, there is no need to add more landfill because these plastics can be absorbed by the soil and converted to compost or humus.
2. Several public misunderstandings about degradable plastics
(1) Belief that biodegradable plastics will degrade in air or use
Some people may mistakenly believe that biodegradable plastics will degrade during use or in the air, which is not true. This is not true because biodegradable plastics will degrade only under the right conditions of temperature, humidity and microorganisms, and will not be degraded during daily use or shelf life.
(2) Think that biodegradation will degrade in any environment
Biodegradable plastics, because of different species and different chemical structures, have different degradation behaviors under different conditions, in addition, degradation needs certain external conditions, therefore, biodegradable plastics are not degraded in any environment, at present, most biodegradable plastics will degrade in soil, seawater, compost and other environments under suitable conditions of temperature and humidity.
(3) Think that biodegradable plastics can only be composted
The degradation conditions and environment of biodegradable plastics are various, and the degradation can occur in compost, soil, river water, seawater and other environments under the suitable conditions of temperature and humidity and microorganisms. Composting is relatively easier to control for the biodegradation process.
