Determining the biodegradation of functionalised cellulose esters

Recently, there has been an increased interest in developing functionalised carbohydrates, such as cellulose palmitate, as novel replacements for petroplastics. The functionalisation gives the materials excellent water barrier properties, as well as processability and mechanical properties akin to PET, while potentially having superior biodegradability to conventional first-generation biopolymers. However, the true biodegradability of these novel polymers is still unknown with some recent reports suggesting that it is limited. In this study, we investigated the potential of cellulose palmitate to biodegrade under controlled laboratory conditions, comparing the polymer to cellulose acetate. To this end, studies using specific enzymes, targeted whole cell fungal degradation and model edibility experiments were devised to study the biodegradability at end-of-life. On an enzymatic level, a combination of cellulase and lipase enzymes were found to hydrolyse the fatty acid linkages, allowing the cellulases to access the carbohydrate chain and release glucose. Under optimal conditions the biopolymer was completely hydrolysed within 6 hours. A soil fungi was then isolated from a compost heap that had been loaded with the functional material, to establish the most suitable species for whole cell degradation. This common soil fungi, Mucor sp., was then grown successfully under lab conditions on the functional material as a 95% carbon source. Finally, an edibility experiment was designed, using pepsin and pancreatic enzymes at precise pH concentrations found in the gastrointestinal tract to mimic real life conditions of ingestion by birds. While cellulose acetate broke down under just the acidic conditions, with no enzymes, the cellulose palmitate was found to be stable at the acidic conditions, but hydrolyse over 7 days when the enzymes were present. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study to confirm the biodegradability of functionalised cellulose highlighting the large promise of functionalised carbohydrates as a sustainable alternative to petrochemical plastics within the packaging industry.