The Fate of a Perfluoropolyether-Coated Paper in a Composting System: Compostability and Chemical Analysis

Abstract

Fluorosurfactant-coated paper has been and continues to be a convenient grease, moisture and heat proof product for the packaging and preparation of food. Paper packaging materials are often suitable for composting environments given their natural origin and close relationship to food and ultimately food waste. However, the suitability of fluorosurfactant amendments such as PFPE for composting is unknown. This work examined the fate of PFPE-coated paper in a laboratory-scale composting system. The PFPE-coated paper performed equal to uncoated paper in terms of overall material loss and carbon dioxide (CO2) evolution in a compostability experiment. The finished compost containing PFPE performed equal to PAPER compost when used in an eco-toxicity experiment to examine pea and wheat germination and growth. Solvent extraction of finished PFPE compost and 19F NMR analysis revealed that PFPE was extractable from finished compost and that the PFPE polymer was unchanged despite undergoing 12 weeks of thermophilic composting. The chemical and instrumental analyses that were conducted suggested that the PFPE polymer in the paper coating did not biodegrade when subjected the industrial composting conditions of the in-vessel experiment.