We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Lab-scale and full-scale industrial composting of biodegradable plastic blends for packaging
Summary
Researchers compared lab-scale and full-scale industrial composting of biodegradable plastic blends used in packaging and found that materials achieving significant disintegration in controlled lab conditions often failed to break down adequately in real composting plants, primarily due to differences in substrate composition and process heterogeneity.
The results show that the samples achieved significant disintegration in the lab-scale but not in the plant. The difference between the tests that might further contribute to the differing degradation rates is the composition and heterogeneity of the composting substrate. Therefore, the substrate composition and thermophilic composting duration of individual plants are important considerations to determine the suitability of treating compostable plastic in real-world conditions.