The ability to predict the biodegradability of a given compound is crucial in understanding the fate of this compound in the environment, which can have tremendous public health implications. Traditionally, the biodegradability prediction relies on the regression analysis utilizing quantitative structural relationships. This paper presents a novel prediction method utilizing neural networks and...

This study presents a review of biodegradability modeling efforts including a detailed assessment of two models developed using an artificial intelligence based methodology. Validation results for these models using an independent, quality reviewed database, demonstrate that the models perform well when compared to another commonly used biodegradability model, against the same data. The ability...

Engineered sub-micron particles are being used in many technical applications, leading to an increasing introduction into the aquatic environment. Only a few studies have dealt with the biodegradability of non-functionalized organic particles. In fact the knowledge of organically surface functionalized colloids is nearly non-existent. We have investigated the biodegradability of organically sur...

The biodegradability of three types of bioplastic pots was evaluated by measuring carbon dioxide produced from lab-scale compost reactors containing mixtures of pot fragments and compost inoculum held at 58 °C for 60 days. Biodegradability of pot type A (composed of 100% polylactic acid (PLA)) was very low (13 ± 3%) compared to literature values for other PLA materials. Near infrared spectrosco...

Biodegradation is generally recognised as an important removal mechanism for pollutants in natural ecosystems. It determines the concentration of substances in the environment. According to the legislation of the European Union, there are three levels for biodegradability testing protocols for chemicals which cover different test conditions. This paper describes one such multilevel approach to ...