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  • From: RT Ellsberry <rtells@Flora.Com>
  • To: Community Forestry <Treetown@Majordomo.Flora.Com>
  • Subject: Tt: DuPont goes biodegradable
  • Date: Sat, 27 Sep 1997 12:51:38 -0400 (EDT)

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In a fancy pro-environment advertisement in September's 'Scientific
American,' the chemical giant claims that its next generation of
affordable plastics will rapidly compost into viable topsoil.
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... DuPont scientists have created a new family of highly
versatile polymers based on polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
technology and known commercially as DuPont Biomax(R) hydro/
biodegradable polyester. Depending on the application, up
to three proprietary aliphatic monomers are incorporated into
the polymer. The monomers create weak spots in the polymeric
chains, thereby making them susceptible to degradation through
hydrolysis. The large polymer molecules are cleaved by moisture
into smaller molecules, which are then consumed by naturally
occurring microbes and converted to carbon dioxide and water.

A polyester that microbes find tasty.
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Biomax(R) can be recycled, incinerated or landfilled, but is
intended mainly for disposal by composting and in-soil degra-
dation. Researchers performed a series of tests to determine
environmental impact, including plant germination and seedling
emergence, earthworm weight gain and mortality, and microbial
population density. In all tests, the materials were found
to be harmless to the environment at every stage in the decom-
position process. They are virtually undetectable to the un-
aided eye in about eight weeks.

Because Biomax(R) is a modified PET polymer, it can be manu-
factured with existing equipment using existing bulk monomers.
This means that it is only marginally more expensive to produce
than PET itself. Currently available degradable materials, on
the other hand, can cost twice as much ...

Further info available by fax from DuPont, Dept. SA, at 302-695-7615.
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  • Tt: DuPont goes biodegradable, RT Ellsberry, 09/27/1997

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