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Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Degradation of thermoplastic cellulose acetate-based bioplastics by full-scale experimentation of industrial anaerobic digestion and composting(2023-04-15); ; ; ; The ability of full-scale industrial plants to degrade bioplastics waste must be verified to exclude any negative effects on the quality of the process outputs. This study aims to assess the degradation of two thermoplastic cellulose acetate-based bioplastics, in pure and composite forms in both Anaerobic Digestion (AD) and Composting (C) industrial conditions. The main degradation occurred during AD, where a disintegration of about 36% and 50% was achieved from pure and composite thermoplastic cellulose acetate, respectively. The disintegration during C did not exceed 20% for both samples. The combined process resulted in a slightly higher degradation (58–40%) than that obtained in AD, revealing how the main alteration of samples occurred in an anaerobic environment. Despite this macroscopic degradation, the samples showed only minor superficial degradation as highlighted from SEM analysis. FT-IR spectroscopy, TGA andDSC analyses showed that the biodegradation mechanism involved mainly the plasticizer loss and deacetylation of the cellulose matrix, with only partial degradation of cellulose backbone However, both deacetylation and degradation were favored in AD and AD + C processes and from the presence of filler in anaerobic conditions. These results demonstrated how the degradation obtained on an industrial scale can differ significantly from those obtained in the laboratory scale, especially for pure thermoplastic cellulose acetate. Furthermore, current industrial AD and C process resulted not optimized for the treatment of thermoplastic cellulose acetate-based bioplastics. Hence, this works could help waste facilities managers to process emerging materials such as bioplastics in a more sustainable way.Publicationtype: Journal Article43 26 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , The influence of bio-plastics for food packaging on combined anaerobic digestion and composting treatment of organic municipal waste(2022-05-01); ; ; ; The use of bio-plastic-based packaging as an alternative to conventional plastic packaging is increasing. Among the plethora of different bio-based plastics, the most relevant ones are those that, at the end of their life, can be treated with the organic fraction of municipal solid waste. Even in these cases, their impact on the waste processing and recycling is not always positive. This study aim to assess on a laboratory scale the influence on combined anaerobic digestion and composting industrial processes of a bio-based plastic film, namely cellulose acetate (CA), in pure and modified (additions of additive) forms. CA films were mixed with organic waste and subjected to: (i) anaerobic digestion; (ii) active composting and (iii) two stages of curing composting. Anaerobic digestion and composting were monitored through methane yield and oxygen uptake respectively; additionally, the bio-plastics degree of disintegration was assessed during all the processes. The final disintegration of pure and modified CA was 73.82% and 54.66%, respectively. Anaerobic digestion contributes to the disintegration of the material, while aerobic treatment appears to be nearly ineffective, especially for modified CA. The presence of cellulose acetate during anaerobic digestion of food waste increased the methane yield by about 4.5%. Bioassay confirmed the absence of possible toxic effects on the final compost from the bio-plastic treatment. Although bio-based materials are not the only solution to plastic pollution, the findings confirm the need to upgrade the organic waste treatment plants and the necessity to revise the requirements for the use of compost in agriculture.Publicationtype: Journal Article58