ASTM?D6954-04?

?

The?scope?of?the?project?is?to?assess?the?degree?of?physical?property?losses?of?polymers?by?a?thermal?oxidation?process?and?determine?the?rate?of?aerobic?biodegradation?of?the?submitted?test?product?as?well?as?its?ecological?impact?in?the?defined?applications?and?disposal?environments?after?degradation.?This?method?is?divided?into?three?tiers,?whose?goals?and?objectives?are?outlined?in?the?

following?headings.?

?

3.1?Tier?1-Heat?Aging?of?Oxidatively?Degradable?Plastics

The?goal?of?Tier?1?is?to?evaluate?the?extent?of?molecular?weight?loss?resulting?from?thermal?oxidation?of?test?material?using?ASTM?D5510-94（2001）.?The?test?material?is?incubated?in?a?Forced-Ventilation?or?Gravity-Convection?Oven?at?a?temperature?not?exceeding?20℃?from?the?end?use?and?maintained?at?a?relative?humidity?level?for?a?defined?period?of?time?(depending?on?rate?of?fragmentation).?Before?and?after?exposure,?the?following?analyses?are?performed?on?the?test?material:?molecular?weight,?polydispersity?index,?mass?of?volatiles,?and?%?gel.?Weight?loss?will?also?be?determined?upon?termination?of?the?oxidation?process.

All?observations?and?conditions?(time,?temperature,?and?humidity)?will?be?recorded?on?a?daily?basis.?

?

UV?light?exposure?can?be?an?alternative?route?for?oxidation?testing?in?Tier?1.??

Inquire?for?more?details?regarding?pricing?for?UV?exposure.

3.2?Tier?2-Biodegradability?Testing??

The?goal?of?Tier?2?is?to?determine?the?degree?and?rate?of?aerobic?biodegradation?of?a?test?material?from?Tier?1?using?ASTM?D5338-98(2003).?In?this?method,?the?test?material?is?incubated?with?a?compost?inoculum?and?the?percentage?of?biodegradability?is?obtained?by?determining?the?percent?of?conversion?of?carbon?in?the?test?material?to?carbon?in?the?form?of?CO2?in?the?gas?phase.?The?inoculum?can?be?derived?from?several?sources?ranging?from?commercially?operated?compost?facilities?to?yard/plant?matter?compost.?The?aerobic?decomposition?occurs?under?high-solids?conditions?with?weekly?mixing?of?the?contents?to?provide?optimum?contact?between?inoculum?and?test?material?and?to?keep?the?entire?contents?of?the?vessel?aerobic?for?the?duration?of?the?test.

ASTM?D5338-98(2003)?requires?a?setup?of?three?replicates?of?each?of?the?following:?the?test?product,?a?blank?that?contains?inoculum?only,?a?negative?control?that?contains?polyethylene?in?the?same?form?as?the?test?material,?and?a?positive?control?of?thin-layer?chromatography?cellulose.?Air?(CO2?free)?will?be?fed?to?the?reactors?at?a?constant?flow?rate?to?allow?accurate?determination?of?CO2?level?in?the?exhaust?air,?and?the?amount?of?CO2?converted?from?organic?carbon?in?the?test?material?will?be?calculated?based?on?the?blank?reactor?systems.

Reactor?vessels?will?be?incubated?in?the?dark?or?in?diffused?light?at?58℃±2?for?a?maximum?of?180?

days.??The?incubation?time?may?be?extended?until?gas?production?is?not?significantly?greater?than?that?of?the?blank?during?one?week,?or?until?70%?of?the?positive?control?has?been?degraded.??Carbon?dioxide?gas?concentrations?will?be?measured?regularly?throughout?the?study?(at?least?daily)?

using?a?Ba?(OH)2?scrubbing?solution?in?the?exhaust?of?the?reactors.?The?following?analyses?will?also?be?conducted?on?the?inoculum:??pH,?volatile?fatty?acids,?percent?of?dry?solids,?percent?of?volatile?solids,?total?Kjeldahl?nitrogen,?and?ammonia?nitrogen.?Total?organic?carbon?and?volatile?solids?content?of?the?test?product?will?be?determined?prior?to?test?initiation.

Calculations?will?be?performed?according?to?the?method?to?determine?the?overall?

percent?biodegradability?of?the?product.

3.3?Tier?3-Toxicity?Testing

The?goal?of?Tier?3?is?to?evaluate?the?ecological?impact?of?the?test?material?in?the?final?disposal?medium?after?oxo-biodegradation?testing.?ASTM?D6954?recommends?several?terrestrial?and?aquatic?toxicity?tests?for?determining?the?effect?a?product?has?on?plant?and?animal?life.

ASTM?E1440:Determines?possible?toxicity?effects?on?aquatic?invertebrates.?Inoculum?from?biodegradation?testing?is?extracted?with?water?and?filtered.?One?day?aquatic?toxicity?test?with?Rotifer?brachionus?is?performed.?Testing?is?recommended?if?final?disposal?medium?is?aquatic?in?nature.

Plant?Germination:Determines?possible?toxicity?effects?on?plant?germination.?Inoculum?from?biodegradation?testing?(before?and?after)?is?extracted?with?water?and?filtered.?Various?dilutions?of?the?supernatant?are?prepared.?Cress?seed?germination?is?compared?to?that?of?a?prepared?blank.??Testing?is?recommended?if?screening?processing?additives?are?used?at?1%?or?less?in?the?plastic.

OECD?207:Determines?possible?toxicity?effects?on?terrestrial?invertebrates.?Inoculum?from?biodegradation?testing?used?at?65%?dry?solids.?Inoculum?applied?to?soil?containing?earthworms.??Weight?change?and?survival?are?measured?over?the?course?of?three?months.?Testing?is?recommended?if?final?disposal?medium?is?soil?(very?common).

OECD?208:Determines?possible?toxicity?effects?on?plant?growth.?Inoculum?from?biodegradation?testing?used?at?65%?dry?solids.?Generally,?three?plant?species?(two?dicots,?one?monocot)?are?tested?in?a?homogenized?mixture?of?soil?and?inoculum.?Plant?emergence?survival?and?growth?are?evaluated?over?the?course?of?approximately?one?month.?Recommended?is?final?disposal?medium?is?soil?(very?common).

Additional?testing?includes?pH,?metals?analysis,?and?ability?to?hold?and?percolate?water.?All?three?analyses?are?performed?before?and?after?oxo-biodegradation?testing.

4.0?Reporting?and?Deliverables?

?

Xiamen?Botest?Business?Services?Co.,?Ltd?will?issue?a?report?of?the?initial?analysis?within?15?business?days?of?test?completion.?Should?the?remaining?tests?be?performed,?the?final?report?with?quality?control?review?will?be?issued?within?30?working?days?of?test?completion.?The?report?will?include?all?necessary?information?per?method?requirements.

For?detail?information,?please?contact??or?phone?.

ASTM?D6954-04?

?

The?scope?of?the?project?is?to?assess?the?degree?of?physical?property?losses?of?polymers?by?a?thermal?oxidation?process?and?determine?the?rate?of?aerobic?biodegradation?of?the?submitted?test?product?as?well?as?its?ecological?impact?in?the?defined?applications?and?disposal?environments?after?degradation.?This?method?is?divided?into?three?tiers,?whose?goals?and?objectives?are?outlined?in?the?

following?headings.?

?

3.1?Tier?1-Heat?Aging?of?Oxidatively?Degradable?Plastics

The?goal?of?Tier?1?is?to?evaluate?the?extent?of?molecular?weight?loss?resulting?from?thermal?oxidation?of?test?material?using?ASTM?D5510-94（2001）.?The?test?material?is?incubated?in?a?Forced-Ventilation?or?Gravity-Convection?Oven?at?a?temperature?not?exceeding?20℃?from?the?end?use?and?maintained?at?a?relative?humidity?level?for?a?defined?period?of?time?(depending?on?rate?of?fragmentation).?Before?and?after?exposure,?the?following?analyses?are?performed?on?the?test?material:?molecular?weight,?polydispersity?index,?mass?of?volatiles,?and?%?gel.?Weight?loss?will?also?be?determined?upon?termination?of?the?oxidation?process.

All?observations?and?conditions?(time,?temperature,?and?humidity)?will?be?recorded?on?a?daily?basis.?

?

UV?light?exposure?can?be?an?alternative?route?for?oxidation?testing?in?Tier?1.??

Inquire?for?more?details?regarding?pricing?for?UV?exposure.

3.2?Tier?2-Biodegradability?Testing??

The?goal?of?Tier?2?is?to?determine?the?degree?and?rate?of?aerobic?biodegradation?of?a?test?material?from?Tier?1?using?ASTM?D5338-98(2003).?In?this?method,?the?test?material?is?incubated?with?a?compost?inoculum?and?the?percentage?of?biodegradability?is?obtained?by?determining?the?percent?of?conversion?of?carbon?in?the?test?material?to?carbon?in?the?form?of?CO2?in?the?gas?phase.?The?inoculum?can?be?derived?from?several?sources?ranging?from?commercially?operated?compost?facilities?to?yard/plant?matter?compost.?The?aerobic?decomposition?occurs?under?high-solids?conditions?with?weekly?mixing?of?the?contents?to?provide?optimum?contact?between?inoculum?and?test?material?and?to?keep?the?entire?contents?of?the?vessel?aerobic?for?the?duration?of?the?test.

ASTM?D5338-98(2003)?requires?a?setup?of?three?replicates?of?each?of?the?following:?the?test?product,?a?blank?that?contains?inoculum?only,?a?negative?control?that?contains?polyethylene?in?the?same?form?as?the?test?material,?and?a?positive?control?of?thin-layer?chromatography?cellulose.?Air?(CO2?free)?will?be?fed?to?the?reactors?at?a?constant?flow?rate?to?allow?accurate?determination?of?CO2?level?in?the?exhaust?air,?and?the?amount?of?CO2?converted?from?organic?carbon?in?the?test?material?will?be?calculated?based?on?the?blank?reactor?systems.

Reactor?vessels?will?be?incubated?in?the?dark?or?in?diffused?light?at?58℃±2?for?a?maximum?of?180?

days.??The?incubation?time?may?be?extended?until?gas?production?is?not?significantly?greater?than?that?of?the?blank?during?one?week,?or?until?70%?of?the?positive?control?has?been?degraded.??Carbon?dioxide?gas?concentrations?will?be?measured?regularly?throughout?the?study?(at?least?daily)?

using?a?Ba?(OH)2?scrubbing?solution?in?the?exhaust?of?the?reactors.?The?following?analyses?will?also?be?conducted?on?the?inoculum:??pH,?volatile?fatty?acids,?percent?of?dry?solids,?percent?of?volatile?solids,?total?Kjeldahl?nitrogen,?and?ammonia?nitrogen.?Total?organic?carbon?and?volatile?solids?content?of?the?test?product?will?be?determined?prior?to?test?initiation.

Calculations?will?be?performed?according?to?the?method?to?determine?the?overall?

percent?biodegradability?of?the?product.

3.3?Tier?3-Toxicity?Testing

The?goal?of?Tier?3?is?to?evaluate?the?ecological?impact?of?the?test?material?in?the?final?disposal?medium?after?oxo-biodegradation?testing.?ASTM?D6954?recommends?several?terrestrial?and?aquatic?toxicity?tests?for?determining?the?effect?a?product?has?on?plant?and?animal?life.

ASTM?E1440:Determines?possible?toxicity?effects?on?aquatic?invertebrates.?Inoculum?from?biodegradation?testing?is?extracted?with?water?and?filtered.?One?day?aquatic?toxicity?test?with?Rotifer?brachionus?is?performed.?Testing?is?recommended?if?final?disposal?medium?is?aquatic?in?nature.

Plant?Germination:Determines?possible?toxicity?effects?on?plant?germination.?Inoculum?from?biodegradation?testing?(before?and?after)?is?extracted?with?water?and?filtered.?Various?dilutions?of?the?supernatant?are?prepared.?Cress?seed?germination?is?compared?to?that?of?a?prepared?blank.??Testing?is?recommended?if?screening?processing?additives?are?used?at?1%?or?less?in?the?plastic.

OECD?207:Determines?possible?toxicity?effects?on?terrestrial?invertebrates.?Inoculum?from?biodegradation?testing?used?at?65%?dry?solids.?Inoculum?applied?to?soil?containing?earthworms.??Weight?change?and?survival?are?measured?over?the?course?of?three?months.?Testing?is?recommended?if?final?disposal?medium?is?soil?(very?common).

OECD?208:Determines?possible?toxicity?effects?on?plant?growth.?Inoculum?from?biodegradation?testing?used?at?65%?dry?solids.?Generally,?three?plant?species?(two?dicots,?one?monocot)?are?tested?in?a?homogenized?mixture?of?soil?and?inoculum.?Plant?emergence?survival?and?growth?are?evaluated?over?the?course?of?approximately?one?month.?Recommended?is?final?disposal?medium?is?soil?(very?common).

Additional?testing?includes?pH,?metals?analysis,?and?ability?to?hold?and?percolate?water.?All?three?analyses?are?performed?before?and?after?oxo-biodegradation?testing.

4.0?Reporting?and?Deliverables?

?

Xiamen?Botest?Business?Services?Co.,?Ltd?will?issue?a?report?of?the?initial?analysis?within?15?business?days?of?test?completion.?Should?the?remaining?tests?be?performed,?the?final?report?with?quality?control?review?will?be?issued?within?30?working?days?of?test?completion.?The?report?will?include?all?necessary?information?per?method?requirements.

For?detail?information,?please?contact??or?phone?.