| Abstract from DBPedia | 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.生分解（せいぶんかい）とは、バクテリア、菌類、その他の生物によって化合物が無機物まで分解されることである。ほぼすべての化合物は、やがて生分解され無機物となるが重要なのは時間である。それらの速度に関係する要素としては、光、水、酸素や温度などの環境や、その物質自体が分解菌に利用されやすい（バイオレメディエーションが高い）などの要因による。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Biodegradation) |
