Field test on the biodegradation of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) based mulch films in soil

The use of plastic much films has been fundamental to promoting food production in many regions of the world. However, concern is growing about the progressive accumulation of plastic residues in soil after crop harvest and its subsequent impact on soil health and potential to enter the food chain....

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Ruimin Qi, Davey L. Jones, Qiuyun Liu, Qin Liu, Zhen Li, Changrong Yan
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Elsevier 2021
Materias:	Agricultural land Biodegradation Microplastic residues Soil pollution Waste plastic Polymers and polymer manufacture TP1080-1185
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/d49bb1a0505f41b8adb7dde465f1b07a
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:d49bb1a0505f41b8adb7dde465f1b07a
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:d49bb1a0505f41b8adb7dde465f1b07a2021-11-24T04:26:13ZField test on the biodegradation of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) based mulch films in soil0142-941810.1016/j.polymertesting.2020.107009https://doaj.org/article/d49bb1a0505f41b8adb7dde465f1b07a2021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142941820322388https://doaj.org/toc/0142-9418The use of plastic much films has been fundamental to promoting food production in many regions of the world. However, concern is growing about the progressive accumulation of plastic residues in soil after crop harvest and its subsequent impact on soil health and potential to enter the food chain. Although biodegradable films have been developed to prevent these problems, it is still unclear whether they are environmentally benign. Here we evaluated the physical and chemical breakdown of four commercial poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) based biodegradable mulch films (BMF1, BMF2, BMF3 and BMF4) in an agricultural soil over a 26-month period. Based on visual examination, degradation followed the series BMF4 > BMF1, BMF2 > BMF3. Importantly, microplastic residues (fragments <5 mm) still remained in the soil of all 4 plastic types after 2 years, suggesting that they are likely to accumulate over time if used on an annual basis. Viscosimetry, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) were used to characterise the breakdown process. Our results indicated that the degradation of the mulch film after burial in agricultural soil may be linked to the nature of the polymer but also to its manufacturing formulation. Although the peak changes of polyester in the infrared spectrum were not distinct, the plastic films showed other signs of degradation including a reduction in intrinsic viscosity after burial in soil. The different degradation rates of BMF1 and BMF2 at the molecular level may be due to the different CaCO3 contents. In conclusion, under field conditions, we show that slight variations in the formulations of commercial biodegradable mulch films leads to very different persistence rates in soil. Further, we conclude that their slow rate of degradation will ultimately lead to their progressive accumulation in soil if used repeatedly.Ruimin QiDavey L. JonesQiuyun LiuQin LiuZhen LiChangrong YanElsevierarticleAgricultural landBiodegradationMicroplastic residuesSoil pollutionWaste plasticPolymers and polymer manufactureTP1080-1185ENPolymer Testing, Vol 93, Iss , Pp 107009- (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Agricultural land Biodegradation Microplastic residues Soil pollution Waste plastic Polymers and polymer manufacture TP1080-1185
spellingShingle	Agricultural land Biodegradation Microplastic residues Soil pollution Waste plastic Polymers and polymer manufacture TP1080-1185 Ruimin Qi Davey L. Jones Qiuyun Liu Qin Liu Zhen Li Changrong Yan Field test on the biodegradation of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) based mulch films in soil
description	The use of plastic much films has been fundamental to promoting food production in many regions of the world. However, concern is growing about the progressive accumulation of plastic residues in soil after crop harvest and its subsequent impact on soil health and potential to enter the food chain. Although biodegradable films have been developed to prevent these problems, it is still unclear whether they are environmentally benign. Here we evaluated the physical and chemical breakdown of four commercial poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) based biodegradable mulch films (BMF1, BMF2, BMF3 and BMF4) in an agricultural soil over a 26-month period. Based on visual examination, degradation followed the series BMF4 > BMF1, BMF2 > BMF3. Importantly, microplastic residues (fragments <5 mm) still remained in the soil of all 4 plastic types after 2 years, suggesting that they are likely to accumulate over time if used on an annual basis. Viscosimetry, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) were used to characterise the breakdown process. Our results indicated that the degradation of the mulch film after burial in agricultural soil may be linked to the nature of the polymer but also to its manufacturing formulation. Although the peak changes of polyester in the infrared spectrum were not distinct, the plastic films showed other signs of degradation including a reduction in intrinsic viscosity after burial in soil. The different degradation rates of BMF1 and BMF2 at the molecular level may be due to the different CaCO3 contents. In conclusion, under field conditions, we show that slight variations in the formulations of commercial biodegradable mulch films leads to very different persistence rates in soil. Further, we conclude that their slow rate of degradation will ultimately lead to their progressive accumulation in soil if used repeatedly.
format	article
author	Ruimin Qi Davey L. Jones Qiuyun Liu Qin Liu Zhen Li Changrong Yan
author_facet	Ruimin Qi Davey L. Jones Qiuyun Liu Qin Liu Zhen Li Changrong Yan
author_sort	Ruimin Qi
title	Field test on the biodegradation of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) based mulch films in soil
title_short	Field test on the biodegradation of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) based mulch films in soil
title_full	Field test on the biodegradation of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) based mulch films in soil
title_fullStr	Field test on the biodegradation of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) based mulch films in soil
title_full_unstemmed	Field test on the biodegradation of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) based mulch films in soil
title_sort	field test on the biodegradation of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) based mulch films in soil
publisher	Elsevier
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/d49bb1a0505f41b8adb7dde465f1b07a
work_keys_str_mv	AT ruiminqi fieldtestonthebiodegradationofpolybutyleneadipatecoterephthalatebasedmulchfilmsinsoil AT daveyljones fieldtestonthebiodegradationofpolybutyleneadipatecoterephthalatebasedmulchfilmsinsoil AT qiuyunliu fieldtestonthebiodegradationofpolybutyleneadipatecoterephthalatebasedmulchfilmsinsoil AT qinliu fieldtestonthebiodegradationofpolybutyleneadipatecoterephthalatebasedmulchfilmsinsoil AT zhenli fieldtestonthebiodegradationofpolybutyleneadipatecoterephthalatebasedmulchfilmsinsoil AT changrongyan fieldtestonthebiodegradationofpolybutyleneadipatecoterephthalatebasedmulchfilmsinsoil
_version_	1718416003689349120

Field test on the biodegradation of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) based mulch films in soil

Ejemplares similares