Aerobic Biodegradation of Algae-Derived Bioplastics Under   Controlled Composting Conditions

Aerobic Biodegradation of Algae-Derived Bioplastics Under Controlled Composting Conditions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Aerobic Biodegradation of Algae-Derived Bioplastics Under Controlled Composting Conditions Clayton Lords, Ronald C. Sims, Ashton Zeller, Tansley Mazurkiewicz This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7377296/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background The scale of environmental damage caused by plastic pollution highlights the need to implement sustainably sourced biodegradable plastics within the global economy. Microalgae biofilms cultivated on rotating algae biofilm reactors using municipal wastewater are a possible feedstock for bio-based bioplastic production. Algix, a company based in Meridian, Mississippi, specializes in manufacturing bioplastic products from microalgae. Algix manufactures bioplastics for many products, including shoes and agricultural mulch films. The Sustainable Waste-to-Bioproducts Engineering Center in Logan, Utah has partnered with Algix and Central Valley Water Reclamation Facility in Salt Lake City, Utah to create a biodegradable polyester using microalgae biomass grown on a pilot-scale rotating algae biofilm reactor. However, Algix has not quantified the biodegradation characteristics of this bioplastic polymer blend. The purpose of this research was to generate, analyze, and present data concerning the biodegradation of these algae-based bioplastics under composting conditions. The ASTM D5338 method was used to expose the dog-bone bioplastic samples composed of 30% algae biomass to an aerobic composting process for 45 days. The bioplastic samples were also exposed to industrial-scale aerobic composting conditions for 12 weeks at Central Valley Water Reclamation Facility; the ASTM D6400 method was used to quantify the biodegradability of thin-film bioplastic samples under these conditions. Results Under controlled laboratory conditions, the bioplastics demonstrated approximately 13% biodegradation of the total mass, and 30% biodegradation compared to a cellulose positive control. A polyethylene negative control in the same form as the samples showed no biodegradation. Under industrial-scale field conditions, thin-film samples of the bioplastics completely disintegrated after 12 weeks of aerobic composting. Conclusions Although dog-bone bioplastics composed of 30% algae biomass did not show any significant signs of biodegradation under laboratory-controlled composting conditions, thin-film samples of the bioplastics demonstrated the ability to completely disintegrate under industrial composting conditions at a municipal water treatment plant. More research is necessary to compare biodegradation characteristics of the thin-film samples under laboratory conditions, and biodegradation characteristics of the dog-bone samples under industrial composting conditions. Algae Bioplastic Biodegradation Biofilm Compost Plastic Polymer Water reclamation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7377296","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":512633612,"identity":"363a7b18-3fea-4eb6-9e56-8c8fbaec882e","order_by":0,"name":"Clayton Lords","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA6ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACdijNB8QSDBUQjgReLcxAfACI2cAqz5CshbGNCC38zczPpD9U3GFgY+99ePPnvMP2BgeYD97mwaNF4jCbmcSBM88Y2HiOG1vzbjucuOEAW7I1Pi0GzAxmEgfbDjOwSaSxSTNuO5xgcIDHTBq/FvZvcC2SP+eAHMb/jYAWHoQtErwNhxk3HOBhw6tF4jBPscWZM4d52HiOMVvzHEtPnHmYzdhyDh4t/O3tG29UVByW42dvY7z5o8banu9488Mbb/BoAQIWUCwguYQZv3Kwkg+E1YyCUTAKRsGIBgB0nUOb6u+w2AAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Utah State University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Clayton","middleName":"","lastName":"Lords","suffix":""},{"id":512633613,"identity":"166c5679-d88e-4623-b3d2-88278c4c88b3","order_by":1,"name":"Ronald C. 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Microalgae biofilms cultivated on rotating algae biofilm reactors using municipal wastewater are a possible feedstock for bio-based bioplastic production.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlgix, a company based in Meridian, Mississippi, specializes in manufacturing bioplastic products from microalgae. Algix manufactures bioplastics for many products, including shoes and agricultural mulch films. The Sustainable Waste-to-Bioproducts Engineering Center in Logan, Utah has partnered with Algix and Central Valley Water Reclamation Facility in Salt Lake City, Utah to create a biodegradable polyester using microalgae biomass grown on a pilot-scale rotating algae biofilm reactor. However, Algix has not quantified the biodegradation characteristics of this bioplastic polymer blend. The purpose of this research was to generate, analyze, and present data concerning the biodegradation of these algae-based bioplastics under composting conditions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe ASTM D5338 method was used to expose the dog-bone bioplastic samples composed of 30% algae biomass to an aerobic composting process for 45 days. The bioplastic samples were also exposed to industrial-scale aerobic composting conditions for 12 weeks at Central Valley Water Reclamation Facility; the ASTM D6400 method was used to quantify the biodegradability of thin-film bioplastic samples under these conditions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnder controlled laboratory conditions, the bioplastics demonstrated approximately 13% biodegradation of the total mass, and 30% biodegradation compared to a cellulose positive control. A polyethylene negative control in the same form as the samples showed no biodegradation. Under industrial-scale field conditions, thin-film samples of the bioplastics completely disintegrated after 12 weeks of aerobic composting.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough dog-bone bioplastics composed of 30% algae biomass did not show any significant signs of biodegradation under laboratory-controlled composting conditions, thin-film samples of the bioplastics demonstrated the ability to completely disintegrate under industrial composting conditions at a municipal water treatment plant. More research is necessary to compare biodegradation characteristics of the thin-film samples under laboratory conditions, and biodegradation characteristics of the dog-bone samples under industrial composting conditions.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Aerobic Biodegradation of Algae-Derived Bioplastics Under Controlled Composting Conditions","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-09-11 22:17:55","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7377296/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"cbb04f08-6129-4f3c-aa49-2aa690da3603","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 11th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-04T05:55:22+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-09-11 22:17:55","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7377296","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7377296","identity":"rs-7377296","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}