• Comparison of Biodegradation Behavior of Poly(butylene succinate) Filaments under Different Seawater Conditions

  • Chaeeun Kim, Jungkyu Kim, Gyeom Heo*, Hyoung-Joon Jin**, ***† , and Hyo Won Kwak****,†

  • Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Bioresources, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Korea
    *Fisheries Engineering Division, National Institute of Fisheries Science, Busan 46083, Korea
    **Program in Environmental and Polymer Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Korea
    ***Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Korea
    ****Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Korea

  • 해수 조건에 따른 Poly(butylene succinate) 섬유의 생분해 거동 비교

  • 김채은 · 김정규 · 허 겸* · 진형준**, ***,† · 곽효원****,†

  • 서울대학교 농림생물자원학부, *국립수산과학원 수산공학과, **인하대학교 고분자환경융합공학전공, ***인하대학교 고분자공학과, ****서울대학교 농업생명과학연구원

  • Reproduction, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form of any part of this publication is permitted only by written permission from the Polymer Society of Korea.


Abstract

This study investigated the long-term degradation behavior of nylon 6 and poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) filaments in artificial and natural seawater. FE-SEM analysis showed no significant surface erosion in nylon 6, whereas PBS exhibited clear surface degradation under both conditions. Molecular weight and mechanical properties of PBS progressively decreased during immersion, with a faster initial degradation observed in natural seawater. This difference was attributed to indigenous microbial communities actively participating in PBS degradation from the beginning, while in artificial seawater, hydrolysis dominated initially and microbial activity accelerated only after colonization. These results demonstrate that differences in initial microbial distribution strongly influence the rate and mechanism of polymer degradation, providing valuable insights into the environmental fate of biodegradable polymers in marine ecosystems.


본 연구에서는 nylon 6과 poly(butylene succinate)(PBS) 필라멘트의 장기 해양 분해 거동을 인공해수와 자연해수 조건에서 비교하였다. FE-SEM 분석에서 nylon 6은 뚜렷한 표면 침식이 발생하지 않은 반면, PBS는 인공해수 및 자연해수, 두 조건 모두에서 표면 침식을 보였다. 분자량 및 기계적 물성 분석 결과, PBS의 경우 분해 시간이 경과함에 따라 기계적 물성 약화 및 분자량 저하가 나타났으며, 특히 자연해수에서 초기 분해 속도가 더 빨랐다. 이는 자연해수에 존재하는 미생물 군집이 초기부터 PBS 분해에 관여한 반면, 인공해수에서는 초기 가수분해만 진행되고 이후 미생물 유입에 의해 분해가 촉진되었기 때문이다. 이러한 결과는 인공해수와 자연해수의 초기 미생물 분포 차이가 분해 속도와 메커니즘에 중요한 영향을 미치며, 해양 환경에서 생분해성 고분자의 운명을 이해하는 데 중요한 시사점을 제공한다.


Keywords: biodegradation, seawater environment, poly(butylene succinate), nylon 6, microbial community.

  • Polymer(Korea) 폴리머
  • Frequency : Bimonthly(odd)
    ISSN 2234-8077(Online)
    Abbr. Polym. Korea
  • 2024 Impact Factor : 0.6
  • Indexed in SCIE

This Article

  • 2026; 50(2): 288-294

    Published online Mar 25, 2026

  • 10.7317/pk.2026.50.2.288
  • Received on Oct 1, 2025
  • Revised on Nov 3, 2025
  • Accepted on Nov 14, 2025

Correspondence to

  • Hyoung-Joon Jin**, *** , and Hyo Won Kwak****

  • **Program in Environmental and Polymer Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Korea
    ***Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Korea
    ****Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Korea

  • E-mail: hjjin@inha.ac.kr, bk0502@snu.ac.kr