Environmental Biodegradation of Water-Soluble Polymers: Key Considerations and Ways Forward

Published as part of the Accounts of Chemical Research special issue "Sustainable Polymers"


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Date

2022-08-16

Publication Type

Review Article

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yes

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Abstract

Water-soluble polymers (WSPs) have unique properties that are valuable in diverse applications ranging from home and personal care products to agricultural formulations. For applications that result in the release of WSPs into natural environments or engineered systems, such as agricultural soils and wastewater streams, biodegradable as opposed to nonbiodegrad-able WSPs have the advantage of breaking down and, thereby, eliminating the risk of persistence and accumulation. In this Commentary, we emphasize central steps in WSP biodegradation, discuss how these steps depend on both WSP properties and characteristics of the receiving environment, and highlight critical requirements for testing WSP biodegradability.

Publication status

published

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Volume

55 (16)

Pages / Article No.

2163 - 2167

Publisher

American Chemical Society

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Organisational unit

03850 - McNeill, Kristopher / McNeill, Kristopher check_circle

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