ISO 22403:2020,Plastics — Assessment of the intrinsic biodegradability of materials exposed to marine inocula under mesophilic aerobic laboratory conditions — Test methods and requirements.
ISO 22403:2020 specifies test methods and criteria for showing intrinsic biodegradability in marine environments of virgin plastic materials and polymers without any preliminary environmental exposure or pre-treatment.
Biodegradation of plastic materials is generally a bio-erosion process happening at the interface between the solid phase and the liquid phase where microbes live. It is a heterogeneous reaction. It is the surface rather than the concentration that controls the biodegradation rate. Thus, the higher the available surface the higher the biodegradation rate.
Environmental conditions determine the biodegradation rate as well. Temperature, nutrient availability.PH and the existing microbial population affect the biodegradation rate. Biodegradation can be slowed or even stopped if environmental conditions are not favourable, even if the material is intrinsically and ultimately biodegradable.
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