Instant Ocean Biopolymer Nitrate Reducer

[Fieroguy19]

Fieroguy19,

How much water volume was in your tank you added better than a pound of the Shapelock using a reactor?

My tank is a 40gal breeder with a 29gal sump, ~40-50 net gal. When comparing the 500g of PCL with 500ml of NP pellets, they are about the same volume. Don't have a scale at home to measure.

Wow, that's not good. Maybe they were coated with something.

Did you stop any other carbon additions?

I soaked the pellets in RO/DI water for two days prior to adding them to the tank. I guess it is still possible that there was a coating contaminant. I actually could see very small amounts of growth on the PCL pellets in water after two days. (open container)

I was not dosing any carbon sources at the time. My tank has responded well to vinegar in the past and vodka gave me cyano. The coral response was very dramatic and I am sure that the only variable possible of making such a huge change in the test was the shapelock pellets.

As I said before, it is possible that I was overdosing the pellets, or fluidizing them to much, or the shapelock material is not pure PCL, or other reasons may have contributed to what happened.

 

[HighlandReefer]

I'm out of my realm with this.

But, is it possible that the amount per 100 gal. of polycaprolactone needs to be substancially reduced to prevent overdose? Too much carbon source (glucose, anyway) has proven to kill coral.

Jptenklooster did not indicate it caused problems with coral. Not that I want to use his information against his own product.

Still thinking about giving it a try. I could enquire about this if/when the Chinese Manufactruer responds to my email. Perhaps I should ask more questions I am not aware of?

 

[NaClH2Opgh]

Jptenklooster did not indicate it caused problems with coral. Not that I want to use his information against his own product.

Per the thread on NP biopellets, you cannot overdose them.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I agree. The mechanism alone suggests that.

 

[HighlandReefer]

I sent another email to the manufacturer's US rep. to see if there are any coatings or other chemicals added in the process.

 

[Flavordsm]

I think you guys are on to something and I'm pretty excited to see where this leads. I check this thread like 20 times a day lol.

 

[HighlandReefer]

Environmental degradation of biodegradable polyesters. IV. The effects of pores and surface hydrophilicity on the biodegradation of poly(-caprolactone) and poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] films in controlled seawaterhttp://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/104552104/abstract

From this article:

Abstract
Poly(-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] (R-PHB) films with pores and hydrophilic surfaces were prepared by the water extraction of poly(ethylene oxide) from as-cast blend films (1:1) and by the alkali treatment of as-cast nonporous films, respectively. These films, as well as as-cast nonporous PCL and R-PHB films, were biodegraded in static seawater kept at 25°C, and their biodegradation was monitored with gravimetry, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and scanning electron microscopy. The pores or highly hydrophilic surfaces of the PCL and R-PHB films enhanced their biodegradation in seawater. Moreover, GPC measurements could be used to trace the biodegradation in seawater when the biodegradation proceeded to a great extent. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 587-593, 2003

 

[HighlandReefer]

Biodegradable Plastics - Developments and Environmental Impacts
http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/publications/waste/degradables/biodegradable/chapter3.html

From this article:

Degradation Mechanisms and Properties
Although not produced from renewable raw materials, PCL is fully biodegradable when composted. The low melting point of PCL makes the material suited for composting as a means of disposal, due to the temperatures obtained during composting routinely exceeding 60°C.

Rutkowska et. al. (2000) studied the influence of different processing additives on the biodegradation of PCL film in the compost with plant treatment active sludge. It was found that PCL without additives, completely degraded after six weeks in compost with activated sludge. The introduction of processing additives gave better tensile strength of the materials but made them less vulnerable to micro-organism attack.

The rate of marine biodegradation of PCL has been studied by Janik et. al. (1988) by measuring the tensile strength and percent weight loss over time in both seawater and a buffered salt solution. It was found that the weight loss, as a percent of total weight, decreased more rapidly in seawater than in the buffered salt solution. After eight weeks, the PCL in seawater was completely decomposed, whereas that in salt solution had lost only 20% of its weight. The same trend was seen for the tensile strength, where after eight weeks, the PCL in seawater was destroyed and that in buffered salt solution had decreased to roughly one-sixth its original value. It is therefore apparent that enzymes in the seawater solution assist to accelerate the biodegradation of PCL and other biodegradable plastics.

 

[jptenklooster]

keep in mind that there are different forms of PCL. the one used for denitrification is PCL 6500, at least in fresh water. It should also be noted that PCLs can only be degraded under aerobic conditions, thus decreasing the thikness of the biofilm. Personally I did not observe any toxic effect of the batch that I used, but no positive ones either.

 

[SPStoner]

the poly-caprolactone is an oil derived biodegradable polymer that has first been described and patented by a germain group in the usage of denitrification almost 10 years ago. However, all studies performed were done so in fresh water systems and were working pretty well. To my knowledge there is no data on marine systems and personally I have tested them for 4 months and observed absolutely no result. Maybe it works only in the form that Instant ocean is presenting now, by creating very high surface area, I did not try that yet.

ciao,

JP

PS I'm the producer of NP biopellets and not completely neutral of course

The German firm, and patent holder, is Tetra, which was acquired by United Pet Group roughly 6 years ago, thus becoming one company with Instant Ocean. There are many studies done in marine environments prior to the launch of the IO product and the efficacy was even better than in freshwater. The key to the IO product, and the Tetra for that matter, is that it must be dosed weekly. It should start to work in a few weeks with optimal results start appearing at the 6 to 8 week mark.

PS - I work for United Pet Group, so I too, am not completely neutral.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

It should also be noted that PCLs can only be degraded under aerobic conditions, thus decreasing the thikness of the biofilm.

Why is that?

I understand why it might be slower to hydrolyze than a more hydrophilic polymer, but not why it needs to be aerobic.

 

[HighlandReefer]

Anaerobic biodegradation tests of poly(lactic acid) and polycaprolactone using new evaluation system for methane fermentation in anaerobic sludge
http://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...serid=10&md5=0a8b8eb311be7ee33443ff04abb5d813

From this:

Abstract
The anaerobic biodegradation tests of polycaprolactone (PCL) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) powders were done at thermophilic temperature (55 °C) under aquatic conditions (total solid concentrations of the used sludge were 1.73% (undiluted sludge) and 0.86% (diluted sludge)) using a newly developed evaluation system. With this system, the evolved biogas is collected in a gas sampling bag at atmospheric pressure. This method is more convenient than using a pressure transducer or inverted graduated cylinder submerged in water. The biodegradation of PCL powder (10 g, 125"“250 μm) in the diluted sludge stopped in about 47 days when the biodegradability reached 92%. The biodegradability of PLA powder (10 g, 125"“250 μm) in undiluted sludge was 91% at about 75 days. The biodegradability of PLA powder (10 g, 125"“250 μm) in diluted sludge was 79% at about 100 days. The biodegradability of PLA powder (5 g, 125"“250 μm) in diluted sludge was 80% at about 85 days. It was found that the PCL and PLA powders were quite degraded using the new evaluation method. In addition, the smaller particle size PCL powder was biodegraded faster.

 

[HighlandReefer]

Biodegradation of Modified
Poly(ε-caprolactone) in Different
Environments
http://www.pjoes.com/pdf/11.4/413-420.pdf

From it:

Biodegradation of modified poly(ε-caprolactone) in sea
water and compost with activated sludge was very fast.
The film was completely assimilated over the period of
seven weeks. The obtained results indicate that modified
poly(ε-caprolactone) was very sensitive to enzymatic attack
of microorganisms in living environment and rather
resistant to chemical hydrolysis.
Microscopic observations and DSC studies of poly(ε-
caprolactone) incubated in sea water and compost with
plant treatment activated sludge leads to the conclusion
that the biodegradation of poly(ε-caprolactone) in a
microbially active environment occurred in two stages.
The first stage consisted of the degradation of amorphous
phase, resulting in an increase in crystallinity of the polymer.
The second stage started when most of the amorphous
regions were degraded; subsequently, the crystalline
phase was degraded. The polymer became prone to fragmentation
and enzymatic surface erosion proceeded.

 

[HighlandReefer]

Randy,

What is different about poly(ε-caprolactone)?

 

[HighlandReefer]

Ok, I see the difference:

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The epsilon in the same implies where the hydroxy group in the uncyclized molecule.

HOCH2CH3CH3CH3CH3CO2H

It could be attached to any of the carbon atoms, although only the last three carbons will allow it to cyclize into a lactone. The first carbon after the carbonyl would be alpha, second beta, third delta, then gamma, then epsilon.

All of them can form a polymer, but for most purposes, one can drop the epsilon and just read the name polycaprolactone since it is the common form.

 

[HighlandReefer]

Thanks for the explanation Randy, I now recall this from college chemistry too many years ago to say. :lol:

I have noticed in several articles that it is cheaper to use wheat (in some cases soy beans,.....etc) to produce this plastic polymer. The cost in quite a bit less. They have articles demonstrating the strength differences for use purposes. They also include studies showing the differences in biodegradability. It appears that when polycaprolactone is produced using the wheat techniques it is more biodegradable and supplies more energy to the bacteria.

I would assume the polycaprolactone produced using wheat would be more beneficial for our purposes? Would the chemical name, polycaprolactone, change when they sell these products using wheat? I suspect that some of the products we are looking at use this methods due to cost?

They refer to the wheat produced polycaprolactone as modified polycaprolactone.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I don't know whether the differences are impurities or molecular weight effects or something else, so it is hard for me to say.

 

[HighlandReefer]

Research Project: MODIFICATION OF NATURAL POLYMERS BY THERMO-MECHANICAL PROCESSING
http://afrsweb.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?seq_no_115=216414

From it:

Interpretive Summary: Some conventional plastics are produced from petroleum-based feedstocks and persist in the environment for years. Biodegradable polymers, such as polycaprolactone (PCL), can be degraded in the environment by microorganisms, oxidation and hydrolysis. Biodegradable polymers can be utilized for packaging materials, hygiene products, disposable consumer goods, and agricultural products. The cost of PCL can be reduced by blending agricultural materials, such as wheat gluten (WG), into composite materials with appropriate mechanical properties. The manuscript reports on the formation of a polymer composite composed of PCL and WG fabricated by twin-screw extrusion and injection molding. The data show that there is some adhesion between PCL and WG in the composites indicating that WG is not an inert filler and contributes to the overall mechanical properties of the composite. The composites are biodegradable and competitive in cost with comparable non-sustainable petroleum-based products currently in the marketplace. The current study presents a new way to utilize agricultural materials for the future profitability of the agriculture industry.

Technical Abstract: Wheat gluten (WG) was incorporated into poly(caprolactone) (PCL) up to 50% w/w as a filler to form a biodegradable polymer composite. Microscopic examination showed a well-dispersed particle-matrix system. The composite was evaluated for tensile properties. The tensile strength of the composite decreased linearly with increasing wheat gluten content from 20 MPa (0% WG) to 6 MPa (50% WG). However, the decreases in tensile strength did not fit the Nicolais-Narkis model indicating that some adhesion between WG and PCL occurred. High elongation (>900%) was observed in PCL-WG composites with up to 20% WG which decreased to 400% at 35% WG and finally to less than 100% at 40-50% WG. There was a particle-induced transition at a calculated critical volume of 0.3 corresponding to 30% WG by weight to PCL.

 

[HighlandReefer]

I suspect, if in fact, the products used are made with 30% wheat gluten, then perhaps overdoses could occur?