Degradation Process
Degradation is a process that takes place in some materials. The speed depends on the environment. Conventional polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) plastics will typically take hundreds of years to degrade. But oxo-degradable products utilize a prodegradant to speed up the molecular breakdown of the polyolefins and incorporate oxygen atoms into the resulting low molecular mass. This chemical change enables the micro breakdown of the plastics.
The process of degradation in OXO treated plastic is an oxidative chain scission that is catalyzed by metal salts leading to oxygenated (hydroxylated and carboxylated) shorter chain molecules .
OXO plastic if discarded in the environment, will fragment and degrade to oxygenated low molecular weight (typically MW 5-10.000 amu) within 2–18 months depending on the material (resin, thickness, anti-oxidants, etc.) and the temperature and other factors in the environment.
OXO plastics will not degrade in a landfill environment due to insufficient oxygen present below a depth of approximately 15 cm. A PE plastic bag for example 30 µm thick with 2% prodegradant additive degrades within 3 months if left exposed in an open air environment in Thailand and a 150 µm thick PP container or sheet will degrade within 3–6 months.
Oxo treated products do not degrade rapidly in an open environment because they are stabilized to control the service-life of the product. They will nevertheless biodegrade in nature much more quickly than nature's wastes such as twigs and straw (c10 years) and cannot be compared in speed with the degradation ordinary plastic (many decades).
Read more about this topic: Oxo Biodegradable
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