Italcom Biodegradabile

Microtech Research. Inc. has developed an alternative method of creating biodegradable plastics.This method involves a proprietary combination of organic and inorganic chemical materials which have been mixed in a very precise formulation and compounded into a reactor-grade master batch pellet. When this pellet is compounded with anv polyethylene or polypropylene resin. the resulting plastic is biodegradable. The biodegradation of ECM-treated plastic occurs through aerobic (oxygen dependant) and anaerobic (dependent on the absence of oxygen) pathways. Microorganisms consumethe plastic. assimilating the material for cellular processes and producing a mixture of rnetabolic products (principally methane. carbon dioxide. and water). Plastics synthesized using the ECM process may be useable in the manufacture of bags. agricultural film. landscape netting. diaper liners, and numerous other products.

The viability of ECM-treated plastic as an environmentally safe, biodegradable product was evaluated by conducting standard tests on ECM pellets and plastic film created using the ECM process. Biodegradation test were conducted to determine the susceptibility of the products to biodegradation. In addition. chemical analyses and standard plant and animal toxicity tests were conducted on the end product of the biodegradation process to determine the safety of the product.