Add-X Biotech and Q-Lab Corporation have teamed up to perform the first outdoor weathering test using an oxo-biodegradable plastic bag. Add-X is a Swedish biotech company, and the inventor behind the AddiFlex® oxo-biodegradable additive used in the test. Q-Lab, the worldwide leader in weathering test equipment and outdoor exposure testing services, performed the testing.

Add-X’s proprietary AddiFlex additive was added to the plastic bag in trace amounts. The additive causes the films to oxidize, meaning that the structure of the plastic is attacked by oxygen. This causes it to disintegrate and biodegrade more rapidly, ultimately metabolizing to CO2, water and biomass. This process is accelerated by the presence of heat and sunlight. These factors made Q-Lab’s outdoor exposure testing facility in Buckeye, Arizona, a perfect place to perform the experiment.

"After only six weeks of outdoor exposure testing, the results were astonishing," says Eugen Mössner, CTO of Add-X Biotech. "The bag had almost completely vanished. The results exceeded our own high expectations, despite the very low additive levels. The results also correlate well with the parallel testing done in Q-Lab’s QUV accelerated weathering tester."

Q-Lab used its decades of experience in the weathering field to jointly set up the tests with Add-X. "With this great result, a deeper cooperation has been initiated between Q-Lab and Add-X," Mr. Mössner goes on to say. "We are now undertaking a joint effort on further testing that will lay the foundation for future breakthroughs in the oxo-biodegradable market."

Please visit Add-X Biotech’s website to see a time-lapse video of the bag’s degradation.

For more information please contact Add-X Biotech.