What does biodegradation mean?

Definitions for biodegradation
biodegra·da·tion

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word biodegradation.


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Wiktionary

  1. biodegradationnoun

    the decomposition of any material by microorganisms

Wikipedia

  1. Biodegradation

    Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegradation occurs under a specific set of circumstances. The process of biodegradation is threefold: first an object undergoes biodeterioration, which is the mechanical weakening of its structure; then follows biofragmentation, which is the breakdown of materials by microorganisms; and finally assimilation, which is the incorporation of the old material into new cells. In practice, almost all chemical compounds and materials are subject to biodegradation, the key element being time. Things like vegetables may degrade within days, while glass and some plastics take many millennia to decompose. A standard for biodegradability used by the European Union is that greater than 90% of the original material must be converted into CO2, water and minerals by biological processes within 6 months.

Wikidata

  1. Biodegradation

    Biodegradation is the chemical dissolution of materials by bacteria or other biological means. Although often conflated, biodegradable is distinct in meaning from compostable. While biodegradable simply means to be consumed by microorganisms and return to compounds found in nature, "compostable" makes the specific demand that the object break down in a compost pile. The term is often used in relation to ecology, waste management, biomedicine, and the natural environment and is now commonly associated with environmentally friendly products that are capable of decomposing back into natural elements. Organic material can be degraded aerobically with oxygen, or anaerobically, without oxygen. Biosurfactant, an extracellular surfactant secreted by microorganisms, enhances the biodegradation process. Biodegradable matter is generally organic material such as plant and animal matter and other substances originating from living organisms, or artificial materials that are similar enough to plant and animal matter to be put to use by microorganisms. Some microorganisms have a naturally occurring, microbial catabolic diversity to degrade, transform or accumulate a huge range of compounds including hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, pharmaceutical substances, radionuclides, pesticides and metals. Major methodological breakthroughs in microbial biodegradation have enabled detailed genomic, metagenomic, proteomic, bioinformatic and other high-throughput analyses of environmentally relevant microorganisms providing unprecedented insights into key biodegradative pathways and the ability of microorganisms to adapt to changing environmental conditions. The advent of nucleic acid-based stable isotope probing has made it possible to identify specific microorganisms responsible for biodegradation in within complex ecosystems. Products that contain biodegradable matter and non-biodegradable matter are often marketed as biodegradable.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of biodegradation in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of biodegradation in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

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Translations for biodegradation

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"biodegradation." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/biodegradation>.

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