Editing Biodegradation (section)

== Factors affecting biodegradation rate ==
[[File:Decomposition rates of marine debris items, OWID.svg|thumb|upright=2|Average estimated decomposition times of typical marine debris items. Plastic items are shown in blue.]]
In practice, almost all chemical compounds and materials are subject to biodegradation processes. The significance, however, is in the relative rates of such processes, such as days, weeks, years or centuries. A number of factors determine the rate at which this degradation of organic compounds occurs. Factors include [[light]], [[water]], [[oxygen]] and temperature.<ref name="pmid29972726">{{cite journal|vauthors=Haider T, Völker C, Kramm J, Landfester K, Wurm FR|title=Plastics of the future? The impact of biodegradable polymers on the environment and on society|journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English|volume=58|issue=1|pages=50–62|date=July 2018|pmid=29972726|doi=10.1002/anie.201805766|doi-access=free}}</ref> The degradation rate of many organic compounds is limited by their [[bioavailability]], which is the rate at which a substance is absorbed into a system or made available at the site of physiological activity,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bioavailability|title=Definition of BIOAVAILABILITY|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2018-09-19|archive-date=2018-09-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919062040/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bioavailability|url-status=live}}</ref> as compounds must be released into solution before organisms can degrade them. The rate of biodegradation can be measured in a number of ways. [[Respirometry]] tests can be used for [[aerobic microbes]]. First one places a solid waste sample in a container with microorganisms and soil, and then aerates the mixture. Over the course of several days, microorganisms digest the sample bit by bit and produce carbon dioxide – the resulting amount of CO<sub>2</sub> serves as an indicator of degradation. Biodegradability can also be measured by anaerobic microbes and the amount of methane or alloy that they are able to produce.<ref>{{cite web|first=Andy|last=Jessop|name-list-style=vanc|url=https://commercialwaste.trade/how-is-biodegradability-measured/|title=How is biodegradability measured?|date=2015-09-16|work=Commercial Waste|access-date=2018-09-19|archive-date=2018-09-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919062141/https://commercialwaste.trade/how-is-biodegradability-measured/|url-status=live}}</ref>

It's important to note factors that affect biodegradation rates during product testing to ensure that the results produced are accurate and reliable. Several materials will test as being biodegradable under optimal conditions in a lab for approval but these results may not reflect real world outcomes where factors are more variable.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Research of the biodegradability of degradable/biodegradable plastic material in various types of environments|vauthors=Adamcova D, Radziemska M, Fronczyk J, Zloch J, Vaverkova MD|journal=Przegląd Naukowy. Inżynieria i Kształtowanie Środowiska|volume=26|year=2017|pages=3–14|doi=10.22630/PNIKS.2017.26.1.01|doi-access=free}}</ref> For example, a material may have tested as biodegrading at a high rate in the lab may not degrade at a high rate in a landfill because landfills often lack light, water, and microbial activity that are necessary for degradation to occur.<ref name = "SLH">{{Cite news|url=https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1543-measuring-biodegradability|title=Measuring biodegradability|work=Science Learning Hub|access-date=2018-09-19|language=en|archive-date=2018-09-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919162548/https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1543-measuring-biodegradability|url-status=live}}</ref> Thus, it is very important that there are standards for plastic biodegradable products, which have a large impact on the environment. The development and use of accurate standard test methods can help ensure that all plastics that are being produced and commercialized will actually biodegrade in natural environments.<ref>{{cite book|date=1995|editor-last=Scott|editor-first=Gerald|editor2-last=Gilead|editor2-first=Dan|name-list-style=vanc|title=Degradable Polymers|publisher=Dordrecht Springer|location=Netherlands|doi=10.1007/978-94-011-0571-2|isbn=978-94-010-4253-6}}</ref> One test that has been developed for this purpose is DINV 54900.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Witt U, Yamamoto M, Seeliger U, Müller RJ, Warzelhan V|title=Biodegradable Polymeric Materials-Not the Origin but the Chemical Structure Determines Biodegradability|journal=Angewandte Chemie|volume=38|issue=10|pages=1438–1442|date=May 1999|pmid=29711570|doi=10.1002/(sici)1521-3773(19990517)38:10<1438::aid-anie1438>3.0.co;2-u}}</ref>

Recent advances have enabled real-time monitoring of polymer biodegradation using biosensors combined with machine learning, improving the accuracy of degradation assessments under varying environmental conditions.<ref name="Javed2024">{{Cite journal |last=Javed |first=M. |last2=Alghamdi |first2=N. |title=Real-time monitoring of polymer biodegradation using biosensors and machine learning |journal=Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical |volume=417 |year=2024 |pages=134294 |doi=10.1016/j.snb.2024.134294 |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2024.134294}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Approximated time for compounds to biodegrade in a marine environment<ref>[http://cmore.soest.hawaii.edu/cruises/super/biodegradation.htm "Marine Debris Biodegradation Time Line"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105113852/http://cmore.soest.hawaii.edu/cruises/super/biodegradation.htm |date=2011-11-05 }}. [[Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education|C-MORE]], citing [[Mote Marine Laboratory]], 1993.</ref>
|-
! scope="col" style="width:175px;"| Product
! scope="col" style="width:175px;"| Time to Biodegrade
|-
| [[Paper towel]] || 2–4 weeks
|-
| [[Newspaper]] || 6 weeks
|-
| [[Apple core]] || 2 months
|-
| [[Cardboard]] box || 2 months
|-
| Wax coated [[milk carton]] || 3 months
|-
| [[Cotton]] gloves || 1–5 months
|-
| [[Wool]] gloves || 1 year
|-
| [[Plywood]] || 1–3 years
|-
| Painted [[wooden]] sticks || 13 years
|-
| [[Plastic bag]]s || 10–20 years
|-
| [[Tin can]]s || 50 years
|-
| [[Disposable diaper]]s || 50–100 years
|-
| [[Plastic bottle]] || 100 years
|-
| [[Aluminium can]]s || 200 years
|-
| [[Glass bottle]]s || Undetermined 
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Time-frame for common items to break down in a terrestrial environment<ref name = "SLH" />
|-
| Vegetables
| 5 days – 1 month
|-
| Paper
| 2–5 months
|-
| Cotton T-shirt
| 6 months
|-
| Orange peels
| 6 months
|-
| Tree leaves
| 1 year
|-
| Wool socks
| 1–5 years
|-
| [[Plastic-coated paper]] milk cartons
| 5 years
|-
| [[Leather]] [[shoes]]
| 25–40 years
|-
| [[Nylon]] fabric
| 30–40 years
|-
| Tin cans
| 50–100 years
|-
| Aluminium cans
| 80–100 years
|-
| Glass bottles
| 1 million years
|-
| [[Styrofoam cup]]
| 500 years to forever
|-
| Plastic bags
| 500 years to forever
|}