Comparison of biodegradation of low-weight hydroentangled raw cotton nonwoven fabric and that of commonly used disposable nonwoven fabrics in aerobic Captina silt loam soil:

The increasing use of synthetic disposable nonwoven products generates a large amount of non-biodegradable solid waste. In an effort to enhance the use of raw cotton in nonwoven wipes applications, this study compares the biodegradation of low-weight nonwoven fabrics (around 50 g/m2) made of mechanically pre-cleaned raw cotton, rayon, polypropylene (PP), and polylactic acid (PLA) in a Captina silt loam soil. The biodegradation rates of raw cotton and rayon fabrics were fitted to the first-order kinetics model with half-life values of 12.6 and 7.6 days, respectively. The slightly faster disintegration of cellulose structure for rayon was confirmed by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) spectra, and distinct morphological changes in the fiber (cracks and breakage were prevalent in raw cotton, whereas the thinning and merging of fibers occurred in rayon) were observed during their biodegradation. PLA and PP nonwoven fabrics exhibited no weight loss during the buria...