Photo-biodegradable polymers agricultural

Farmers are notoriously conservative and do not take kindly to innovations in agricultural practice, particularly if it is likely to cost more. The key question then in considering the viability of photo-biodegradable plastics is do they improve profitability Nowhere is cost more important than in China and yet a much higher proportion of the annual output of the polymer industries is used in agriculture in China than anywhere else in the world (Table 5.1) and this usage increased almost 2000 times between 1980 and 1991 (Table 5.2). 

Commercial polyolefins show no significant reduction in molar mass in typical ambient biometric tests over many months or even years. The resistance of hydrocarbon polymers to biodegradation during use is one of their major advantages in agricultural application over bio-based plastics. The useful life of photo-biodegradable polyolefins is controlled commercially by appropriate transition metal complexes in which the ligands are... 

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