Biodegradation Assessment of Polybutylene Succinate by Linking CO2 Evolution to Tensile Strength Reduction

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

This study investigates the degradation behaviour of polybutylene succinate (PBS) during controlled composting and in outdoor soil, focusing on how specimen geometry influences tensile properties during biodegradation. In compost, it was observed that specimens with a smaller cross-sectional area exhibited a slightly faster loss of ultimate tensile strength (UTS). However, when the CO 2 evolution data was normalized by specimen surface area, it was shown that the rate of UTS reduction during biodegradation was essentially independent of specimen size. These findings enabled the estimation of PBS biodegradation in outdoor soil based on changes in UTS. The accuracy of the estimation was explored by measuring the changes in thermal properties, crystallinity and molecular weight, and these changes were deemed proportional to the estimated degree of biodegradation. Overall, this work clarifies the interplay between tensile properties, biodegradation progress, and specimen geometry, suggesting a method where mechanical properties are used to assess PBS biodegradation. The results demonstrate that UTS loss in PBS can serve but as a tool for estimating biodegradation progress in natural environments where direct CO 2 monitoring is difficult.