Biodegradability of polymers, materials and plastic products

Do you produce or distribute polymers, compounds or plastic products? Then a good understanding of environmental behaviour will help you to minimize negative impacts, develop more sustainable alternatives and set up effective waste management or circular economy strategies. At the same time, you can be transparent with stakeholders and authorities about how your materials behave in the environment, thereby meeting both regulatory requirements and the desire for greater sustainability. But how can the biodegradability of polymers, materials and plastic products – regardless of whether they are films or rigid materials – be proven?

We offer you various analysis methods to evaluate the degradation behavior of plastic products such as films, injection-molded components, textiles or filaments in a defined environment and under realistic environmental conditions – depending on the material to be tested and your question. The results allow conclusions to be drawn about the service life of a product and the behavior of the material in the environment, among other things.

In our biotechnological laboratory, we investigate biological degradation and production potential and develop new microbiological processes on a laboratory to pilot plant scale. As a recognized testing laboratory of the Federal Compost Quality Association and a recognized testing laboratory of DIN CERTCO for tests on the compostability of materials according to DIN EN 13432, DIN EN 14995, ASTM 6400, we offer:

• Microbiological analyses according to DIN, ISO, OECD methods
• Studies on biodegradability under aerobic and anaerobic conditions (e.g. AT4 and GB21 in accordance with the Waste Disposal Ordinance)
• Development of biotechnological production processes
• Fermentation tests according to VDI guideline 4630

Possible specifications:

• Test duration between four weeks and one year, depending on the task and material
• Tests in various substrates (e.g. compost, fresh water)
• Temperature range for solid substrates: 20 to 60 °C
• Adjustable moisture of the substrate
• Use of UV radiation to investigate the influence of sunlight
• Heavy metal analysis and ecotoxicological tests (plant tests)
• Quantitative disintegration tests
• Design of new test benches for specific requests

From material selection to proof of the biodegradability of your end products: We support you in your product development. We work directly on your behalf. We use our pilot plants, laboratories and test rigs in the field of biodegradability as required. We start by discussing the framework conditions with you to determine how we can use our expertise and infrastructure to successfully advance your company. The size of your company is irrelevant: our teams support small companies just as professionally with research and development services as clients from SMEs or DAX companies.

Are you interested? Then write to us!

Assessment and adjustment of the aging and degradation behavior of plastics

to the productsheet

Test rigs for determining the aging and degradation behavior in the environment

to the infrastructure of the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE

Development of bio-based plastics and recycled plastics

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