Title: theoretical degree of biodegradation
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - theoretical degree of biodegradation
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.13922
Status: current

Definition
Degree of biodegradation that corresponds to conversion of all the organic matter present in an original polymer-based item to minerals and biomass.

Note
This expression is used as reference to assess biodegradable components that are not accessible to biodegradation from those that are bioavailable.

Related Terms
- Degree of biodegradation: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13893
- bioavailability: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13876

Source
- PAC, 2012, 84, 377. 'Terminology for biorelated polymers and applications (IUPAC Recommendations 2012)' on page 396 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-10-12-04)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13922/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13922/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13922/xml

Citation: Citation: 'theoretical degree of biodegradation' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.13922
License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-06-04T17:00:49+00:00