Anaerobic biodegradation of plastic materials in controlled slurry digestion systems
ISO 13975:2019 defines a method for identifying the ultimate biodegradability of plastic materials under anaerobic conditions in a controlled anaerobic slurry digestion system.
The methanogenic inoculum is obtained from an anaerobic digester operating on sewage sludge or on organic waste such as livestock manure or garbage. The test material mixed with the inoculum is anaerobically incubated in a test vessel at a pre-selected temperature for a test period until a plateau phase of gas production is reached, but the total period shall be normally 60 days and not exceed 90 days. The digestion temperature can be set at either thermophilic or mesophilic condition in order to simulate these two different digestion conditions. The amount of biogas produced is calculated from the volume of biogas collected and the amount of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) formed in excess of blank values. The percentage of biodegradation is calculated as the ratio of the sum of the net increase of produced biogas and DIC to the theoretical amount of evolved biogas.
Gas Endeavour® allows for continuous and on-line monitoring of released biogas (CH4 and CO2) under the test condition. The instrument offers standardised measurement procedures, data interpretations and reports. It is the perfect analytical tool for anaerobic biodegradability assay with highly precise and accurate data.
Read more about ISO 13975 at iso.org.
