Determination of aerobic biodegradation of plastic materials exposed to seawater — Part 1
ISO 23977-1: 2020 describes two variations of a test method for determining the biodegradability of plastics materials in natural seawater. The test is performed under mesophilic test conditions for up to two years by incubating plastic materials with either seawater only or with seawater to which low amount of sediment has been added, coming from the same site where the seawater was taken. The biodegradation is followed by measuring the evolution of carbon dioxide. The level of biodegradation is determined by comparing the amount of carbon dioxide evolved with the theoretical amount and expressed in percentage. The test result is the maximum level of biodegradation, determined from the plateau phase of the biodegradation curve.
Please notice the aerobic biodegradation of plastic materials exposed to seawater can also be analysed according to ISO 23977-2: 2020 based on measurement of oxygen demand (BOD) in a closed respirometer. This is the recommended method for Gas Endeavour® with a simplified system configuration, higher measurement reliability and capacity.
Read more about ISO 23977-1 at iso.org
