LITERATURE REVIEW

Kijchavengkul et al (2006) developed a measurement respirometry system, calibrated, and

proved capable of measuring the biodegradation of polymers such as poly(lactide).
Poly(lactide) bottles were tested under simulated compost environmental conditions using
corn starch and PET bottles as positive and negative controls, respectively. PLA bottles were
found to biodegrade with 64.2% mineralization after incubation for 63 days. Based on the
ASTM D 6400 and ISO14855 test methods, it can be concluded that PLA bottles were
biodegradable, since the % mineralization of PLA was higher than 60%, and that of corn-
starch higher than 70%.
Cho, Moon, Kim, Nam, & Kim (2011) investigated the biodegradation speed and
biodegradability of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and poly(caprolactone) (PCA)/starch
(consisting of 30% starch, aliphatic polyesters, and 55% PCL) under conditions without
oxygen (anaerobic) and with oxygen (aerobic). After 80 days, biodegradability of PBS was
merely 31% under aerobic conditions, and showed a 0.01 day-1 biodegradation rate,
meanwhile PCL/starch effortlessly degraded, showing a biodegradation rate of 0.07 day-1
having 88% biodegradability after 44 days under same conditions. Under the influence of
anaerobic bacteria, the PCL/starch blend was well degraded – 83% biodegradability in 139
days, however as compared to cellulose which was employed as control, its rate of
biodegradation was slow (6.1mL CH4/g-VS day). Under anaerobic conditions, two percent
(2%) biodegradability after 100 days was realised for PBS. This study points out that
anaerobic digestion, landfilling, and composting are viable options for managing waste
generated from PCL/starch blend while there is a need for further research into methods for
containing waste from PBS.
Fialho e Moraes et al. (2017) carried out a study into the production of new, marketable,
biodegradable sheets by flat die extrusion-calendaring process generated from thermoplastic
starch/plasticized cellulose acetate/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (TPS/PCA/PBAT)
and thermoplastic starch/plasticized cellulose acetate (TPS/PCA) blends, and to evaluate the
effects of thermal properties, morphological traits, and composition and processing state. It
was revealed that processing temperature and composition equally had great effects on the
properties of TPS/PCA and TPS/PCA/PBAT biodegradable sheets produced. PCA and TPS
showed excellent compatibility mainly at higher processing temperatures in the TPS/PCA
blends as revealed by the morphological characteristics and thermal properties, while a
heterogeneous structure evolved in the TPS/PCA/PBAT blends due to components being
incompatible. The mechanical properties of TPS/PCA blends processed at higher
temperatures were promising, which make them probable as a new sustainable, economically
feasible substitute for conventional non-biodegradable plastics.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Researchers today spend a lot of time working on the possibility of substituting existing
single use hospital/lab consumables with biodegradable ones that might have shorter
residence time in the environment and find solution to plastic waste (Willian Grunsen,
2019). When choosing materials to manufacture laboratory consumables, producers
look deeply at the properties that users require and expect from their plates, tubes, petri
dishes plastic labels, and pipette tips. Although this list of requirements is extensive, the
ones that usually top the list are purity, consistency, and stability. It means that these
properties should be thoroughly studied when looking at potential new materials, such
as biodegradable plastics .
Biodegradable plastic products have the potential to fulfill the first two which is
applicable to cutlery and food packages (https://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/type-of-
biodegradable-plastic). The key issue, however, is the stability of biodegradable
plastics. The biodegradable plastics structure changes over time, which leads to changes
in material properties. This effect is exacerbated by the conditions and entities to which
consumables are exposed – including cells and bacteria, various chemicals such as acids
and bases, and varying temperatures. These factors will inevitably influence the
structure and strength of biodegradable lab consumables over time , (Lambert S and
Wagner M, 2017). More importantly, when biodegradable polymers are broken down,
polymer fragments that can be detrimental to many lab applications might be released
into a sample, causing contamination .
The underlying issue is that polymer degradation always occurs gradually. It is not yet
possible to create a material that maintains its properties for the typical shelf life of a
lab consumable, and only after reaching the expiry date, begins to degrade. Degradation
will certainly be slower if consumables are stored in airtight packaging, but it would
still be happening to some extent
In addition, important concerns have been raised in recent years disputing the purely
positive environmental impact of switching to biodegradable plastics. One of these
concerns is that the production processes for many biodegradable plastics are complex
and have a high energy consumption, in many cases higher than the energy consumption
of conventional plastic production. Also disputed are the exact definitions of
“biodegradable” and similar terms, as these have been used to promote products that do
not actually degrade under the conditions of the places where they could end up (e.g.
landfill sites or the ocean), (http://theconversation.com/when -biodegradable-plastic-is-
not biodegradable-116368).
When choosing materials for use in lab consumables, manufacturers need to consider
many different properties to produce an optimized product – including quality,
longevity, environmental impact, and cost. Currently available biodegradable plastics do
not meet these requirements, particularly when it comes to performance over time and
potential for sample contamination,
The use of biodegradable plastics also raises a broader question; is changing to
biodegradable plastics really a more sustainable option? From a degradation perspective
there are certainly important benefits, however the high energy consumption associated
with biodegradable plastic production remains an environmental challenge.
Also, dealing with hospital waste can be a logistical nightmare. But some believe that if
medical centres switched to bio-based and biodegradable disposable products, they could
simplify their waste management and see other benefits, such as a lower carbon footprint and
a reduction in hospital acquired infections.
According to the World Health Organization, high-income countries produce up to 0.5 kg of
hazardous waste per hospital bed per day. But this material – which may be infectious, toxic,
or radioactive – only accounts for around 15% of waste produced by healthcare activities.
The remaining 85% is comparable to domestic waste. Dealing with all this rubbish is a
complex process and hospitals dispose of it in several different ways. Most incinerate their
dangerous waste, sending the rest to landfill or to be recycled. Some researchers, however,
believe that the waste could be better managed if hospitals switched to biodegradable –
mainly bio-based – disposable products. These could then be sent to anaerobic digestion
plants or composting facilities, creating a single, more environmentally friendly, waste
stream.
Plastics production worldwide increased from 322 million tonnes in 2015 to 335 million
tonnes in 2016 alone (Plastics Europe, 2017). Presently, most plastics are obtained from fossil
feedstocks such as natural gas, oil, or coal. Around eight percent of the world's oil and gas
production is used in the production of plastic (Brown, 2018). Half of all plastics produced
are considered as disposable due to being single-use plastic products and packaging materials.
Petroleum resources are insufficient as they are continually being depleted, this poses an
additional problem for petroleum-based plastics. Yearly, 35 billion barrels of oil are used
worldwide (Biello, To, LaRosa, & Anderson, 2017). This massive scale of fossil fuel
dependence would not last forever and it causes pollution on a massive scale. Scientists
estimate that 40 percent of the world’s oil reservoirs have already been consumed, and at
current consumption rates, all known sources of petroleum on the planet would be exhausted
before the end of the 21st century. As the demand for plastic products continues to climb, the
compulsion to discovering more ecologically safe alternatives to orthodox petroleum-based
plastics also intensifies. The search for more environmentally friendly alternatives has
prompted scientists to develop biobased or biodegradable polymers which are capable of
degradation in certain controlled environments (Fialho e Moraes et al., 2017; Lu, Xiao, & Xu,
2009; Makhtar et al., 2013). The development of biodegradable plastics is an effort towards
achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – Goal 11 (Sustainable cities and
communities), Goal 12 (Responsible consumption and production), Goal 13 (Climate action),
Goal 14 (Life below water), and Goal 15 (Life on land) – as set by the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) (UNDP, 2016).
Thus, the search is continuing for a material for lab consumables that fulfills all criteria
for both sustainability and user requirements .
Hence the purpose of this feasibility study on development of biodegradable lab/hospital
disposable consumables.