Abstract
Degradation behavior of polyester fibers was examined in compost, using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Ecoface® that has a modified PET structure with partly introduced hydrolyzable groups. Both (as knit articles and cloth) showed gradual decrease of the molecular weights in compost. The decrease of molecular weights of Ecoface® reached around 90% after ca. 6 months, but that of PET remained less than 50%. Although decrease of a molecular weight of PET cloth was observed, no fragmentation was found after ca. 6 months with and without inoculum of actinomycetes. Thin cloth of Ecoface® showed ca. 90% decrease in its molecular weight after 3 months and was fragmented. Even thick cloth of Ecoface® showed fragmentation after ca. 4.5 months with ca. 90% decrease of the original molecular weight. Fragmentation seemed to be caused when the decrease of a molecular weight reached over 90%. Inoculation of polyester-degrading thermophilic actinomycetes on the surface of samples seemed to promote and stabilize degradation of Ecoface® fragmented in compost.
