Details:
Summary:
Commercial news ink vehicles consisting of soy or mineral oil and petroleum resins and USDA's 100% modified soy oil based vehicles were subjected to biodegradation. Rate and extent of degradation were compared by inoculating each vehicle with monocultures and mixed cultures of Aspergillus fumigatus, Penicillium citrinum and Mucor racemosus. Fermentations were allowed to proceed during 5, 12, and 25 days. Results show that USDA's ink vehicles degrade faster and more completely than either commercial mineral oil based or soy-mineral oil based vehicles. In 25 days soybean oil degraded nearly completely, USDA's 100% soy oil-based vehicle degraded 82-92%, and commercial partial soy oil based and petroleum based vehicles degraded 58-68% and 17-27%, respectively.