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In-soil degradation of polymer materials waste – A survey of different approaches in relation with environmental impact
Summary
This review surveys the in-soil degradation of polymer materials — including natural fibers, synthetic plastics, and composites — examining how environmental factors such as UV radiation, microorganisms, moisture, and temperature drive degradation and influence the environmental impact of plastic waste in terrestrial ecosystems.
Vegetal fibers from different sources, including wood fibers and plant-derived fibers, together with polymer plastics per se (natural, synthetic, and their blends), as well as their combinations as composite materials may generate significant amounts of wastes. These will undergo degradation process under exposure to different environmental factors including microorganisms, climatic changes – e.g. droughts, oxygen, temperature, soil dynamics, UV radiation, etc. This survey offers a concise review of degradation under environmental conditions, mainly after in-soil exposure, of waste made of polymer materials and natural fibers. It also describes the most common methods for evaluation of bioconversion and degradation, as well as the structural properties after degradation (e.g. macroscopic investigation; weight loss; spectrometry – UV, FTIR, NMR; X-ray diffraction for crystalline changes; SEM microscopy; and thermal stability).
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