Chemical passport for biodegradation

Abstract

Disclosed is an apparatus for generating a chemical product passport, the apparatus comprising: one or more compute nodes; and one or more computer readable media, the one or more computer readable media having computer executable instructions thereon, the computer executable instructions are structured such that, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, the apparatus performs the following steps: receiving a request to provide a decentration identifier associated with the biodegradation data and the data owner; providing a decentralized identifier and generating a chemical product passport comprising the decentralized identifier and data related to the biodegradation data; -providing a chemical product passport for access to a data consumption service controlled by or by a data provision service associated with the data owner.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for generating a chemical product passport, a computer-implemented method for generating a chemical product passport, a method for using a chemical product passport, and a computer program element. BACKGROUND

[0002] In recent years, the biodegradability of chemical products has received more attention.

[0003] Biodegradable chemical products can be naturally decomposed, thereby reducing pollution and waste accumulation. Biodegradable chemical products can be decomposed into harmless products such as water, CO2, and minerals. This avoids the generation of microplastics. Biodegradable materials thus ensure environmental protection, the maintenance of biodiversity, and the reduction of landfill waste. As a result of chemical products, the biodegradability of chemical products can be a requirement from market access authorities.

[0004] Currently, biodegradation data of chemical products are stored in central databases and / or safety data sheets. This approach is static in terms of data, error-prone, and cumbersome to process or maintain. Since the setup of such systems is highly specific and centralized, the exchange and sharing of biodegradation data is time-consuming and laborious. Such systems are not suitable for end consumers. Furthermore, changes in biodegradation data based on subsequent process steps can not be reflected. There is therefore a need to simplify the exchange and sharing of biodegradation data to improve the biodegradation rate of chemical products. SUMMARY

[0005] In one aspect, an apparatus for generating a chemical product passport is disclosed, the apparatus comprising: one or more computing nodes; and one or more computer-readable media having thereon computer-executable instructions structured such that, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, cause the apparatus to perform the steps of: - receiving a request to provide a decentralized identifier associated with biodegradation data, the biodegradation data being associated with a biodegradation property of a chemical product, in particular a biodegradable chemical product, and a data owner, - in response to the request, generating the chemical product passport comprising the decentralized identifier and data related to the biodegradation data, the biodegradation data being associated with the biodegradation property of the chemical product; - providing the chemical product passport for access by a data-consuming service controlled by or with a data providing service associated with the data owner.

[0006] In one aspect, an apparatus for generating a chemical product passport is disclosed, the apparatus comprising: one or more computing nodes; and one or more computer-readable media having thereon computer-executable instructions that are structured such that, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, cause the apparatus to perform the steps of: - receiving a request to provide a decentralized identifier associated with a data owner and biodegradation data, - in response to the request, generating the chemical product passport comprising the decentralized identifier and data related to the at least a portion of the biodegradation data, - providing the chemical product passport for access by a data-consuming service controlled by a data-providing service associated with the data owner.

[0007] In one aspect, an apparatus for generating a chemical product passport is disclosed, the apparatus comprising: one or more computing nodes; and one or more computer-readable media having thereon computer-executable instructions that are structured such that, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, cause the apparatus to perform the steps of: - receiving a request to provide a decentralized identifier associated with a data owner and biodegradation data, - in response to the request, providing the decentralized identifier and generating the chemical product passport comprising the decentralized identifier and data related to the biodegradation data, - providing the chemical product passport for access by a data-consuming service controlled by a data-providing service associated with the data owner.

[0008] In one aspect, an apparatus for generating a chemical product passport is disclosed, the apparatus comprising: one or more computing nodes; and one or more computer-readable media having thereon computer-executable instructions that are structured such that, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, cause the apparatus to perform the steps of: - providing a decentralized identifier associated with a data owner and biodegradation data, - generating the chemical product passport comprising the decentralized identifier and data related to the biodegradation data, - providing the chemical product passport for access by a data-consuming service controlled by a data-providing service associated with the data owner.

[0009] In one aspect, an apparatus for generating a chemical product passport, the chemical product passport comprising, inter alia, a decentralized identifier and data related to biodegradation data, the apparatus comprising: one or more computing nodes; and one or more computer-readable media having thereon computer-executable instructions that are structured such that, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, cause the apparatus to perform the following steps: - receiving a request to provide a decentralized identifier associated with the biodegradation data and a data owner; - in response to the request, providing the decentralized identifier and generating the chemical product passport comprising the decentralized identifier and data related to the biodegradation data; - providing the chemical product passport for access by a data consumption service controlled by or under the control of a data provision service associated with the data owner, particularly wherein the data provision service comprises computer-executable instructions for providing and / or processing biodegradation data associated with the data owner, e.g., for access and / or processing by the data consumption service.

[0010] In one aspect, an apparatus for generating a chemical product passport, the chemical product passport comprising, inter alia, a decentralized identifier and data related to biodegradation data, the apparatus comprising: one or more computing nodes; and one or more computer-readable media having thereon computer-executable instructions that are structured such that, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, cause the apparatus to perform the following steps: - providing a decentralized identifier associated with the biodegradation data and a data owner; - generating a chemical product comprising the decentralized identifier and the data related to the biodegradation data; - providing the chemical product passport for access by a data consumption service controlled by or under the control of a data provision service associated with the data owner, particularly wherein the data provision service comprises computer-executable instructions for providing and / or processing biodegradation data associated with the data owner, e.g., for access and / or processing by the data consumption service.

[0011] In another aspect, a computer-implemented method for generating a chemical product passport, the method comprising the steps of: - receiving a request to provide a decentralized identifier associated with biodegradation data, the biodegradation data being associated with a biodegradation property of the chemical product and a data owner, - in response to the request, generating the chemical product passport comprising the decentralized identifier and data related to the biodegradation data associated with biodegradable properties of the biodegradable chemical product; - providing the chemical product passport for access by a data consuming service controlled by or with the data providing service associated with the data owner.

[0012] In another aspect, a computer-implemented method for generating a chemical product passport is disclosed, the method comprising the steps of: - receiving a request to provide a decentralized identifier associated with a data owner and at least a portion of biodegradation data, - in response to the request, generating the chemical product passport comprising the decentralized identifier and data related to the at least a portion of the biodegradation data, - providing the chemical product passport for access by a data consuming service controlled by the data providing service associated with the data owner.

[0013] In another aspect, a computer-implemented method for generating a chemical product passport is disclosed, the method comprising the steps of: - providing a decentralized identifier associated with a data owner and biodegradation data, - generating the chemical product passport comprising the decentralized identifier and data related to the biodegradation data, - providing the chemical product passport for access by a data consuming service controlled by the data providing service associated with the data owner.

[0014] In yet another aspect, an apparatus for producing a biodegradable chemical material associated with a chemical product passport is disclosed, wherein the biodegradable chemical material comprises at least one first input material of a product supply chain, the apparatus comprising: at least one collector configured to collect biodegradation data associated with the at least one first input material of the product supply chain, wherein the at least one first input material comprises at least one physical identifier; at least one distributor configured to distribute the physical identifier to a first decentralized identifier for generating the product passport associated with the at least one input material; a product passport generator configured to receive a request to provide at least the first decentralized identifier associated with biodegradation data of the at least one first input material, and in response to the request, generate the product passport comprising the first decentralized identifier and data related to the biodegradation data of the at least one first input material.

[0015] In yet another aspect, a computer-implemented method for using a chemical product passport, preferably for determining properties of a chemical product associated with a chemical product passport and / or a biodegradation treatment is disclosed, the method comprising the steps of: - receiving a request for accessing biodegradation data associated with a decentralized identifier of a chemical product passport generated according to the methods disclosed herein or by the apparatuses disclosed herein, - optionally authenticating and / or authorizing the request for accessing the biodegradation data, - optionally based on the authentication and / or authorization, providing access to the biodegradation data associated with the chemical product passport and / or the decentralized identifier of the digital access element.

[0016] Use of a chemical product passport generated according to the methods described herein or by the apparatuses described herein for a biodegradable chemical material for determining properties, in particular biodegradation properties and / or a treatment, of a chemical product associated with the chemical product passport and / or the digital access element.

[0017] In yet another aspect, a biodegradable chemical product associated with a chemical product passport is disclosed, wherein a chemical product passport comprising a decentralized identifier and data related to biodegradation data is generated for the chemical product according to the methods described herein or by the apparatuses described herein.

[0018] In yet another aspect, a system comprising a chemical product associated with a chemical product passport is disclosed, wherein a chemical product passport comprising a decentralized identifier and data related to biodegradation data is generated for the chemical product according to the methods described herein or by the apparatuses described herein.

[0019] In yet another aspect, a chemical product passport comprising a decentralized identifier and data related to biodegradation data is disclosed, wherein a chemical product passport is generated for a chemical product according to the methods described herein or by the apparatuses described herein.

[0020] In yet another aspect, a computer element, in particular a computer program product or a computer readable medium, having instructions which, when executed on one or more computing nodes, are configured to perform the steps of any of the methods disclosed herein or by the apparatuses disclosed herein.

[0021] In yet another aspect, use of a chemical product passport is disclosed, comprising obtaining recipe data of the chemical product passport, to control the production of a chemical end product from a chemical product based on determined recipe data of the chemical product associated with the chemical product passport.

[0022] Any disclosure and embodiments described herein relate to the methods, apparatuses, systems, chemical products, chemical product passports, uses, and computer elements listed above or below, and vice versa. The benefits provided by any embodiment and example apply equally to all other embodiments and examples.

[0023] Embodiments The methods, apparatuses, systems, chemical products, chemical product passports, uses, and computer elements disclosed herein provide an efficient, secure, and robust way for sharing or exchanging biodegradation data associated with the biodegradability properties of chemical materials across different participant nodes in the chemical product value chain, thereby allowing for improved biodegradation rates of chemical products, for example by using the biodegradation data to determine appropriate handling of the chemical products used, for example at end-of-life.

[0024] Appropriate handling can include introducing the chemical product into an intended habitat. Furthermore, the biodegradability of the chemical product can be tracked along the value chain.

[0025] In particular, a) by appending a decentralized identifier to the data owner and associated biodegradation data, and b) by providing access through a data consumption service controlled by a data provision service associated with the data owner, the biodegradation data can be securely exchanged and shared under the sovereignty of the data owner. Thus, the data owner can control access to the biodegradation data by participant nodes of the decentralized network or the data consumption service. This allows for simplified and customizable data sharing or exchange throughout the chemical product ecosystem, including input material suppliers, chemical material manufacturers, intermediate product manufacturers, end product manufacturers, end product distributors, end product retailers, end product’s end consumers, end product collectors such as waste collectors, end product recyclers, and waste management facilities.

[0026] In this way, more reliable and efficient handling of chemical products and end-of-life chemical products by downstream participants of the chemical product ecosystem can be achieved, while the biodegradation data remains in the ownership of the respective data owner. By combining the data related to the chemical product directly with a decentralized identifier and optionally one or more authentication mechanisms, more reliable and secure data sharing and exchange can be provided. By further including one or more authorization mechanisms, data sharing or exchange can be conducted in a more flexible way, where multiple data consumption services from different participants of the chemical product ecosystem have access to the biodegradation data.

[0027] In the following, embodiments of the present disclosure will be outlined by way of example. It is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the described embodiments and / or examples.

[0028] In embodiments, biodegradation can include a process in which organic material, in particular, is broken down into decomposition products by enzymes. These enzymes can be produced by living organisms, such as microorganisms, bacteria, or fungi. Biodegradation of chemical materials can depend on the chemical structure of the chemical product, but also on the environment in which biodegradation takes place. Biodegradability can include the ability of a chemical product to biodegrade. Thus, biodegradability can be a property of a chemical product. In this context, a property of a chemical property can include a property of a chemical product that arises from its nature, i.e. its structure, composition, etc., and thus reflects the nature of the chemical product, as far as a particular context is concerned. In particular, biodegradability can reflect the nature of a chemical product when it is present in a particular biologically active environment. For example, it is preferred that the biodegradability of a chemical product refers to any one of the mineralization properties, biotransformation properties, and / or decomposition of the chemical product after a particular period of time. Furthermore, biodegradation is a technical property of a chemical product, e.g. the knowledge of the biodegradation of a chemical product can strongly influence the technical applicability and utilization of the chemical product.

[0029] In embodiments, a chemical material can include any chemical substance that is at least partially biodegradable. In embodiments, it can include an input material of a chemical production process. In embodiments, a chemical material can include an intermediate product, e.g. a product that can be further processed into one or more end products.

[0030] In embodiments, a chemical product can refer to an organic compound. A chemical product can refer to a polymer and / or a functional compound and / or a formulation.

[0031] In embodiments, a polymer can refer to a synthetic polymer. In embodiments, a synthetic polymer can be a compound that is produced by chemical production from one or more starting materials, such as monomers, and that includes at least two monomeric units. A monomeric unit can be regarded as a subunit of a synthetic polymer. A synthetic polymer can be prepared from monomers by generally known polymerization reactions. A synthetic polymer can be produced from a single type of monomer or from different monomers. Monomeric units can be distributed randomly or can exist as blocks within a synthetic polymer. A synthetic polymer can be a linear polymer. A synthetic polymer can be a branched polymer. A synthetic polymer can be a cross-linked polymer. In embodiments, a synthetic polymer can refer to a synthetic organic polymer. Preferably, a synthetic organic polymer corresponds to one of the following classes: polyalkoxylates, polyesters, polyamines, polyaminoesters, polyamidoamines, polyurethanes, polyols.

[0032] Examples of biodegradable polymers can include: polyesters, such as aliphatic polyesters and aliphatic-aromatic polyesters, polyamides, polycarbonates, polyurethanes, polyethers, polyols, polyhydroxyalkanoates, polylactic acid, polyglycolic acid, polycaprolactone; starch and starch derivatives, such as thermoplastic starch; cellulose and cellulose derivatives, such as cellulose acetate and cellulose hydrate; lignin, proteins and protein-based materials, such as thermoplastic casein, shellac, suberin, chitin, chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol.

[0033] Here and throughout the specification, aliphatic polyesters are understood to mean polyesters based on aliphatic dicarboxylic acids and aliphatic dihydroxy compounds, as well as polyesters based on aliphatic dicarboxylic acids with mixtures of aliphatic dicarboxylic acids and aliphatic dihydroxy compounds. For the preparation of aliphatic-aliphatic polyesters, it is also possible to use ester-forming derivatives of each of them or mixtures thereof with dicarboxylic acids instead of the dicarboxylic acids.

[0034] Generally considered aliphatic dicarboxylic acids and ester-forming derivatives thereof are those having 2 to 3018 carbon atoms, preferably 4 to 1026 carbon atoms, particularly preferably aliphatic dicarboxylic acids having 4 to 13 carbon atoms or 18 to 26 carbon atoms. They can be linear or branched. Preferably, the aliphatic dicarboxylic acids are aliphatic alpha, omega-dicarboxylic acids. However, in principle it is also possible to use dicarboxylic acids having a greater number of carbon atoms, for example having up to 50 carbon atoms.

[0035] Examples of aliphatic dicarboxylic acids and ester-forming derivatives include, but are not limited to, oxalic acid, malonic acid, succinic acid, 2-methylbutanedioic acid, glutaric acid, 2-methylpentanedioic acid, 3-methylpentanedioic acid, alpha-ketoglutaric acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, azelaic acid, sebacic acid, 1,12-dodecanedioic acid, brassylic acid, fumaric acid, 2,2-dimethylglutaric acid, suberic acid, diglycolic acid, oxalacetic acid, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, itaconic acid and maleic acid, their anhydrides and their C1 to C4-alkyl esters. These dicarboxylic acids or ester-forming derivatives thereof can be used individually or as a mixture of two or more thereof.

[0036] It is preferred to use succinic acid, adipic acid, azelaic acid, sebacic acid, 1,12-dodecanedioic acid, brassylic acid or their respective ester-forming derivatives or mixtures thereof. It is particularly preferred to use succinic acid, adipic acid or sebacic acid or their respective ester-forming derivatives or mixtures thereof. Succinic acid, azelaic acid, sebacic acid and brassylic acid also have the advantage that they can be obtained from renewable raw materials.

[0037] A preferred example of a suitable aliphatic polyester is, but is not limited to, an aliphatic polyester, wherein the aliphatic dicarboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of succinic acid, adipic acid, azelaic acid, sebacic acid, 1,12-dodecanedioic acid, brassylic acid and mixtures thereof. Particularly preferred are succinic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid and mixtures thereof.

[0038] Examples of aliphatic diols suitable for the preparation of aliphatic polyesters are, for example, branched or straight-chain alkanediols having 2 to 12 carbon atoms, preferably 4 to 6 carbon atoms, or cycloalkanediols having 5 to 10 carbon atoms. Examples of suitable alkanediols are ethylene glycol, 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,2- butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, 2,4-dimethyl-2-ethylhexane-1,3- diol, 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-propanediol, 2-ethyl-2-butyl-1,3-propanediol, 2-ethyl-2- isobutyl-1,3-propanediol, 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,6-hexanediol, in particular ethylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol and 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-propanediol (neopentyl glycol). Examples of cycloalkanediols are cyclopentanediol, 1,4-cyclohexanediol, 1,2-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1,3-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol and 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol. The aliphatic polyesters can also comprise mixtures of different alkanediols which are condensed. In particular, 1,4-butanediol and propane-1,3-diol are preferred, more particularly 1,4-butanediol, especially in combination with one or two aliphatic dicarboxylic acids selected from succinic acid, adipic acid and sebacic acid. Propane-1,3-diol has the advantage that it is available as a renewable raw material. 1,4-Butanediol is also available from renewable raw materials. PCT / EP2008 / 006714 discloses a biotechnological process for the preparation of 1,4-butanediol starting from different carbohydrates using microorganisms from the family of Pasteurellaceae.

[0039] The aliphatic polyesters can comprise structural units formed from one or more tri- functional alcohols, such as 1,1,1-trimethylolpropane, 1,1,1-trimethylolethane, pentaerythritol, polyether triols, and in particular glycerol, wherein preferably the weight fraction of the structural units is 2% by weight or less, based on the total weight of the structural units aliphatic dicarboxylic acid and aliphatic diol. The tri-functional alcohols provide branching units.

[0040] The aliphatic polyesters can also comprise structural units formed from one or more di- or oligo-functional substances selected from the group consisting of isocyanates, isocyanurates, peroxides, epoxides, oxazolines, oxazines, caprolactams, carboxylic anhydrides and carbodiimides, wherein preferably the weight fraction of such structural units is 4% by weight or less, based on the total weight of the structural units aliphatic dicarboxylic acid and aliphatic diol. The isocyanates, isocyanurates, peroxides, epoxides, oxazolines, oxazines, caprolactams, carboxylic anhydrides and carbodiimides act as chain extenders. A preferred chain extender is hexamethylene diisocyanate.

[0041] Examples of preferred aliphatic polyesters are poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA), poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), poly(butylene sebacate) (PBSe), poly(butylene succinate-co-sebacate) (PBSSe) and mixtures thereof. Even more preferred examples of aliphatic polyesters are poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate), poly(butylene succinate), poly(butylene succinate-co-sebacate) and mixtures thereof. Suitable aliphatic polyesters of this type are commercially available under the following product brand BioPBS™ of PTT-MCC.

[0042] Aliphatic-aromatic polyesters are also called semi-aromatic polyesters, i.e. polyesters based on aromatic dicarboxylic acids and aliphatic diols, as well as polyesters based on a mixture of aromatic dicarboxylic acids with aliphatic dicarboxylic acids and aliphatic diols. Aliphatic-aromatic polyesters are preferably polyesters based on a mixture of aliphatic dicarboxylic acids with aromatic dicarboxylic acids and aliphatic diols. “Aliphatic-aromatic polyesters” are also understood to mean polyester derivatives such as polyether esters, polyester amides or polyether imides and polyester urethanes, as described for example in WO 2012 / 2013506. Suitable aliphatic-aromatic polyesters include linear, unextended polyesters, as described for example in WO 92 / 09654. Preferred are extended and / or branched aliphatic-aromatic polyesters. The latter are known from WO 96 / 15173, WO 96 / 15174, WO 96 / 15175, WO 96 / 15176, WO 96 / 21689, WO 96 / 21690, WO 96 / 21691, WO 96 / 21692, WO 96 / 25446, WO 96 / 25448 and WO 98 / 12242, to which explicit reference is made. Mixtures of different aliphatic-aromatic polyesters are likewise considered. Interesting recent developments are based on renewable raw materials and are described in particular in WO 2006 / 097353, WO 2006 / 097354 and WO 2010 / 034710.

[0043] Preferred aliphatic-aromatic polyesters include polyesters comprising as main components: - an acid component formed from: i. 20 to 95 mole %, in particular 20 to 90 mole %, in particular 20 to 85 mole %, based on the total mole percent of components i and ii, of at least one aliphatic dicarboxylic acid or ester-forming derivatives thereof or mixtures thereof as component i; ii. 5 to 80 mole %, in particular 10 to 80 mole %, in particular 15 to 80 mole %, based on the total mole percent of components i and ii, of at least one aromatic dicarboxylic acid or ester-forming derivatives thereof or mixtures thereof as component ii; - at least one diol selected from C2 to C12-alkanediols as component iii; - optionally component iv, which is selected from one or more chain extenders as component iv.a and / or one or more crosslinking agents as component iv.b.

[0044] Aliphatic dicarboxylic acids and ester-forming derivatives thereof (component i) are as defined above in the context of aliphatic polyesters. Examples thereof are also shown above. The aliphatic dicarboxylic acids or ester-forming derivatives thereof can be used individually or as a mixture.

[0045] Preferred aliphatic dicarboxylic acids include, but are not limited to, succinic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid, azelaic acid, 1,12-dodecanedioic acid, brassylic acid or ester-forming derivatives of each of them or mixtures thereof. It is particularly preferred to use adipic acid, sebacic acid or azelaic acid or ester-forming derivatives of each of them or mixtures thereof. As mentioned above, succinic acid, sebacic acid, azelaic acid and brassylic acid also have the advantage that they can be obtained from renewable raw materials.

[0046] The aliphatic dicarboxylic acid (component i) is present in particular in an amount of 20 to 90 mole-%, especially 20 to 85 mole-% or 25 to 85 mole-% or 30 to 85 mole-%, based on the total mole-% of acid components i and ii. Sebacic acid, azelaic acid and brassylic acid can be obtained from renewable raw materials, in particular from castor oil.

[0047] The aromatic dicarboxylic acid or ester-forming derivatives thereof (ii) can be used individually or as a mixture of two or more thereof. It is particularly preferred to use terephthalic acid or furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid and ester-forming derivatives thereof. Di-Ci to C6-alkyl esters such as dimethyl ester, diethyl ester, di-n-propyl ester, di-isopropyl ester, di-n-butyl ester, di-isobutyl ester, di-tert-butyl ester, di-n-pentyl ester, di-isopentyl ester or di-n-hexyl ester can be mentioned in particular as ester-forming derivatives. Anhydrides of the dicarboxylic acids can also be used. A particularly suitable ester-forming derivative of terephthalic acid is dimethyl terephthalate.

[0048] In one set of embodiments, the aromatic dicarboxylic acid is terephthalic acid or an ester-forming derivative thereof. Preferably, the terephthalic acid (component ii) or ester-forming derivative thereof is present in an amount of 30 to 75 mole-%, more preferably 35 to 65 mole-%, especially 40 to 60 mole-%, respectively, based on the total mole-% of acid components i and ii. In this case, the total amount of aliphatic dicarboxylic acid or ester-forming derivative thereof is preferably in the range of 25 to 70 mole-%, more preferably in the range of 35 to 65 mole-%, in particular in the range of 40 to 60 mole-%, based on the total mole-% of acid components i and ii.

[0049] In another group of embodiments, the aromatic dicarboxylic acid is furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid or an ester-forming derivative thereof. Preferably, the furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (component ii) or an ester-forming derivative thereof is present in an amount of 40 to 80 mole-%, more preferably 50 to 80 mole-% and especially 60 to 80 mole-%, each based on the total mole-% of acid components i and ii. In this case, the total amount of aliphatic dicarboxylic acid or an ester-forming derivative thereof is preferably in the range of 20 to 60 mole-%, more preferably in the range of 20 to 50 mole-%, in particular in the range of 20 to 40 mole-%, based on the total mole-% of acid components i and ii.

[0050] Generally, the diol (component iii) is selected from branched or linear alkanediols having 2 to 12 carbon atoms, preferably 4 to 6 carbon atoms, or cycloalkanediols having 5 to 10 carbon atoms. Examples of suitable alkanediols are ethylene glycol, propane-1,2-diol, propane-1,3-diol, butane-1,2-diol, butane-1,4-diol, pentane-1,5-diol, 2,4-dimethyl-2-ethylhexane-1,3-diol, 2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diol, 2-ethyl-2-butylpropane-1,3-diol, 2-ethyl-2-isobutylpropane-1,3-diol, 2,2,4-trimethylhexane-1,6-diol, especially ethylene glycol, propane-1,3-diol, butane-1,4-diol and 2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diol (neopentyl glycol). Examples of suitable cycloalkanediols are cyclopentanediol, cyclohexane-1,4-diol, cyclohexane-1,2-dimethanol, cyclohexane-1,3-dimethanol, cyclohexane-1,4-dimethanol and 2,2,4,4-tetramethylcyclobutane-1,3-diol. The aliphatic-aromatic polyesters can also comprise a combination of different alkanediols or cycloalkanediols. Particularly preferred are butane-1,4-diol and propane-1,3-diol, especially butane-1,4-diol. Propane-1,3-diol has the advantage that it is available as a renewable raw material. 1,4-Butanediol is also available from renewable raw materials. PCT / EP2008 / 006714 discloses a biotechnological process for the preparation of 1,4-butanediol starting from different carbohydrates using microorganisms from the family of Pasteurellaceae.

[0051] Generally, the diol (component iii) is adjusted relative to the acids (components i and ii) at the beginning of the polymerization such that the ratio diol to diacid is in the range of 1.0 to 2.5:1, preferably 1.3 to 2.2:1. During the polymerization the excess diol is removed such that at the end of the polymerization an approximately equimolar ratio is established. Approximately equimolar is to be understood as a diol / diacid ratio of 0.98 to 1.02:1.

[0052] In particular, suitable aliphatic-aromatic polyesters comprise: i. 20 to 95 mole %, in particular 20 to 90 mole %, especially 20 to 85 mole %, based on the total mole percent of components i to ii, of one or more derivatives forming aliphatic dicarboxylic esters or an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid selected from the group consisting of succinic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid, azelaic acid, brassylic acid and mixtures thereof; ii. 5 to 80 mole %, in particular 10 to 80 mole %, especially 15 to 80 mole %, based on the total mole percent of components i to ii, of one or more derivatives forming aromatic dicarboxylic esters or an aromatic dicarboxylic acid selected from the group consisting of terephthalic acid and furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid and mixtures thereof; iii. 98 to 102 mole % of a C2 to C8-alkylene glycol or a C2 to C6- oxyalkylene glycol, based on components i to ii; and iv. 0.00 to 2 %, in particular 0.01 to 2 %, especially 0.2 to 1.5 % and particularly especially 0.35 to 1 % by weight, based on the total weight of components i to iii, of a chain extender (component iv.a) and / or a crosslinker (component iv.b) selected from the group consisting of a di- or polyfunctional isocyanate, an isocyanurate, an oxazoline, an epoxide, a carboxylic anhydride, an alcohol having at least three functional groups and a carboxylic acid having at least three functional groups.

[0053] Examples of such biodegradable aliphatic-aromatic polyesters are poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), poly(butylene sebacate-co-terephthalate) (PBSeT), poly(butylene azelate-co-terephthalate) (PBAzT), poly(butylene succinate-co-terephthalate) (PBST), poly(butylene adipate-co-sebacate-co-terephthalate) (PBASeT), poly(butylene adipate-co-azelaate-co-terephthalate) (PBAAzT), poly(butylene adipate-co-succinate-co-terephthalate) (PBAST), poly(butylene sebacate-co-azelaate-co-terephthalate) (PBSeAzT), poly(butylene sebacate-co-succinate-co-terephthalate) (PBSeST), poly(butylene azelate-co-succinate-co-terephthalate) (PBAzST), poly(butylene adipate-co-furanoate) (PBAF), poly(butylene sebacate-co-furanoate) (PBSeF), poly(butylene azelate-co-furanoate) (PBAzF), poly(butylene succinate-co-furanoate) (PBSF), poly(butylene adipate-co-sebacate-co-furanoate) (PBASeF), poly(butylene adipate-co-azelaate-co-furanoate) (PBAAzF), poly(butylene adipate-co-succinate-co-furanoate) (PBASF), poly(butylene sebacate-co-azelaate-co-furanoate) (PBSeAzF), poly(butylene sebacate-co-succinate-co-furanoate) (PBSeST), poly(butylene azelate-co-succinate-co-furanoate) (PBAzSF) and mixtures thereof. Such biodegradable polyesters are especially available under the trade name ecoflex® from BASF. ® are commercially available from BASF.

[0054] The synthesis of the aliphatic-aromatic polyesters can be carried out by the methods described in WO-A 92 / 09654, WO-A 96 / 15173 or, preferably, in PCT / EP2009 / 054114 and PCT / EP2009 / 054116, preferably in a two-stage reaction cascade.

[0055] Optionally, based on the total weight of components i to iii, the polyester used may contain 0% to 2% by weight, particularly 0.2% to 1.5% by weight, especially 0.35% to 1% by weight, of a chain extender (component iv.a) and / or a crosslinking agent (component iv.b), wherein the chain extender and / or crosslinking agent is selected from the group consisting of difunctional or polyfunctional isocyanates, isocyanurates, oxazolines, carboxylic anhydrides such as maleic anhydrides, epoxides, particularly epoxide-containing poly(meth)acrylates, alcohols having at least three functional groups, and carboxylic acids having at least three functional groups. Suitable chain extenders (iv.a) are particularly difunctional isocyanates, isocyanurates, oxazolines, carboxylic anhydrides, or epoxides.

[0056] Chain extenders and alcohol or carboxylic acid derivatives having at least three functional groups can also be considered as crosslinking agents. Particularly preferred compounds have three to six functional groups. The following can be mentioned as examples: tartaric acid, citric acid, malic acid; trimethylolpropane, trimethylolethane, pentaerythritol; polyether triols and glycerol, benzopyridine, trimellitic acid, trimellitic anhydride, benzopyridine and benzopyridine anhydride. Preferred polyols include trimethylolpropane, pentaerythritol and especially glycerol.

[0057] Examples of chain extenders are described in more detail below.

[0058] The epoxide is particularly selected from homopolymers and copolymers containing epoxy groups. The epoxy-containing units are preferably formed from glycidyl esters or glycidyl ethers having olefinic unsaturated double bonds, particularly from (meth)acrylates. Suitable comonomers are styrene, acrylates, and / or methacrylates. Based on the total amount of monomers forming the epoxide polymer, copolymers having a (meth)acrylate content of greater than 20% by weight, particularly preferably greater than 30% by weight, and especially preferably greater than 50% by weight, has proven advantageous. The epoxy equivalent (EEW) of these polymers is preferably from 150 g / equivalent to 3000 g / equivalent, specifically, preferably from 200 g / equivalent to 500 g / equivalent. The average molecular weight (weight-average molecular weight) Mw of the polymer is preferably from 2000 g / mol to 25000 g / mol, particularly from 3000 g / mol to 8000 g / mol. The average molecular weight (number average molecular weight) Mn of the polymer is preferably from 400 g / mol to 6000 g / mol, particularly from 1000 g / mol to 4000 g / mol. The polydispersity (Mw / Mn) is typically from 1.5 to 5. Copolymers of the above type containing epoxy groups are, for example, produced by BASF under the trademark Joncryl. ® ADR is for sale. A particularly suitable chain extender is Joncryl. ® ADR 4468 or Joncryl ® ADR4400.

[0059] Generally, it is advantageous to add the crosslinking compound having at least three functional groups to the polymerization of the polyester a) at a relatively early time.

[0060] Suitable difunctional chain extenders are the following compounds: Aromatic diisocyanates (component iv. a) are understood to mean in particular toluene 2,4-diisocyanate, toluene 2,6-diisocyanate, 2,2'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate, 2,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate, 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate, naphthalene 1,5-diisocyanate or xylylene diisocyanate. Of these, particular preference is given to 2,2'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate, 2,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate and 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate. Generally, the diisocyanates used later are used as mixtures. The diisocyanates can also comprise small amounts, for example up to 5% by weight, based on the total weight of the diisocyanates, of uretonimine groups, for example for blocking the isocyanate groups.

[0061] In the context of the present disclosure, aliphatic diisocyanates are understood to mean in particular linear or branched alkylene diisocyanates or cycloalkylene diisocyanates having 2 to 20 carbon atoms, preferably 3 to 12 carbon atoms, for example hexamethylene 1,6-diisocyanate, isophorone diisocyanate or methylene bis(4-isocyanate cyclohexane). Specifically, preferred aliphatic diisocyanates are isophorone diisocyanate, in particular hexamethylene 1,6-diisocyanate.

[0062] Preferred isocyanurates include aliphatic isocyanurates derived from alkylene diisocyanates or cycloalkylene diisocyanates having 2 to 20 carbon atoms, preferably 3 to 12 carbon atoms, for example isophorone diisocyanate or methylene bis(4-isocyanate cyclohexane). The alkylene diisocyanates can be linear or branched. Specifically, preferred are isocyanurates based on n-hexamethylene diisocyanate, for example cyclic trimers, pentamers or higher oligomers of hexamethylene 1,6 diisocyanate.

[0063] Polyhydroxyalkanoates are also referred to as polyhydroxy fatty acids and are understood in the context of the present disclosure to mean those comprising monomers having a chain length of at least 3 carbon atoms in the polymer backbone. Thus, in the context of the present disclosure, polylactic acid and polyhydroxyacetic acid (also known as polyglycolic acid) are not polyhydroxyalkanoates. In the context of the present disclosure, also polycaprolactone (PCL) is not understood to be a polyhydroxyalkanoate.

[0064] According to the present disclosure, it is preferred to use at least one polyhydroxyalkanoate comprising repeating monomeric units of the formula (1) [-0-CHR-(CH2)m-CO-] (1) wherein R is hydrogen or a linear or branched alkyl group having 1 to 20, preferably 1 to 16, carbon atoms, preferably 1 to 6 carbon atoms, and m = a number from 1 to 18, preferably 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6; and / or homopolymers of 2-hydroxybutyric acid.

[0065] Polyhydroxy fatty acids comprise homopolymers, i.e. polyhydroxy fatty acids consisting of the same hydroxy fatty acid monomer, and copolymers, i.e. polyhydroxy fatty acids consisting of different hydroxy fatty acid monomers.

[0066] Examples of polyhydroxy alkanoates are - poly(3-hydroxypropionate) (P3HP); - polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB); - polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV); - polyhydroxyhexanoate (PHHx); - polyhydroxyoctanoate (PHO); - polyhydroxyoctadecanoate (PHOd); - copolyesters of hydroxybutyric acid with at least one monomer selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxypropionic acid, hydroxyvaleric acid, hydroxyhexanoic acid, hydroxyoctanoic acid and hydroxyoctadecanoic acid; - copolyesters of hydroxyvaleric acid with at least one monomer selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxypropionic acid, hydroxyhexanoic acid, hydroxyoctanoic acid and hydroxyoctadecanoic acid; and - copolyesters of hydroxyhexanoic acid with at least one monomer selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxypropionic acid, hydroxyoctanoic acid and hydroxyoctadecanoic acid.

[0067] Suitable polyhydroxybutyrates (PHB) can be selected from the group consisting of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB), poly(4-hydroxybutyrate) (P4HB) and copolymers of at least 3 hydroxybutyric acids selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxybutyric acid and 4-hydroxybutyric acid. Further suitable are copolymers of 3-hydroxybutyric acid and 4-hydroxybutyric acid. These copolymers are characterized by the following abbreviation: [P(3HB-co-4HB)], wherein 3HB is 3-hydroxybutyrate and 4HB is 4-hydroxybutyrate.

[0068] Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) is for example sold by Tianan under the trade name Enmat ® Metabolix has developed poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate. They are now commercialized by CJ CheilJedang.

[0069] Suitable polyhydroxyvalerates (PHV) can be selected from the group consisting of: - homopolymer of 3-hydroxyvaleric acid [= poly(3-hydroxyvalerate) (P3HV)]; - homopolymer of 4-hydroxyvaleric acid [= poly(4-hydroxyvalerate) (P4HV)]; - homopolymer of 5-hydroxyvaleric acid [= poly(5-hydroxyvalerate) (P5HV)]; - homopolymer of 3-hydroxymethylvaleric acid [= poly(3-hydroxymethylvalerate) (P3MHV)]; and - copolymer of at least 3 hydroxyvaleric acids selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxyvaleric acid, 4-hydroxyvaleric acid, 5-hydroxyvaleric acid and 3-hydroxymethylvaleric acid.

[0070] Suitable polyhydroxyhexanoates (PHHx) can be selected from the group consisting of poly(3-hydroxyhexanoate) (P3HHx), poly(4-hydroxyhexanoate) (P4HHx), poly(6-hydroxyhexanoate) (P6HHx) and a copolymer of at least 3 hydroxyhexanoic acids selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxyhexanoic acid, 4-hydroxyhexanoic acid and 6-hydroxyhexanoic acid.

[0071] Suitable polyhydroxyoctanoates (PHO) can be selected from the group consisting of poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) (P3HO), poly(4-hydroxyoctanoate) (P4HO), poly(6-hydroxyoctanoate) (P6HO) and a copolymer of at least 3 hydroxyoctanoic acids selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid, 4-hydroxyoctanoic acid and 6-hydroxyoctanoic acid.

[0072] Suitable copolyesters of hydroxybutyric acid with at least one monomer selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxypropionic acid, hydroxyvaleric acid, hydroxyhexanoic acid, hydroxyoctanoic acid and hydroxyoctadecanoic acid can be selected from the group consisting of: - copolyester of 4-hydroxybutyric acid with 3-hydroxyvaleric acid [P(4HB-co-3HV)]; - copolyester of 3-hydroxybutyric acid with 3-hydroxyvaleric acid [P(3HB-co-3HV)]; - copolyester of 4-hydroxybutyric acid with 3-hydroxyhexanoic acid [P(4HB-co-3HHx)]; - copolyester of 3-hydroxybutyric acid with 3-hydroxyhexanoic acid [P(3HB-co-3HHx)]; - copolyester of 4-hydroxybutyric acid with 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid [P(4HB-co-3HO)]; - copolyester of 3-hydroxybutyric acid with 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid [P(3HB-co-3HO)]; and - copolyester of 4-hydroxybutyric acid with 3-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid [P(4HB-co-3HOd)] and copolyester of 3-hydroxybutyric acid with 3-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid [P(3HB-co-3HOd)].

[0073] It is preferred to use poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate having a proportion of 3-hydroxyhexanoate of 1 to 20 mole %, preferably 3 to 15 mole %, based on the total amount of polyhydroxy fatty acids. Such poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate [P(3HB-co-3HHx)] is known from Kaneka and is available under the trade name Aonilex ™ X131 A and Aonilex ™ X151 A is commercially available.

[0074] Suitable copolyesters of hydroxyvaleric acid are preferably copolyesters of 4-hydroxyvaleric acid and / or 3-hydroxyvaleric acid with at least one monomer selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxypropionic acid, hydroxyhexanoic acid, hydroxyoctanoic acid, in particular 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid and hydroxyoctadecanoic acid.

[0075] Suitable copolyesters of hydroxyhexanoic acid are preferably copolyesters of 3-hydroxyhexanoic acid with at least one monomer selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxypropionic acid and hydroxyoctanoic acid, preferably 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid and hydroxyoctadecanoic acid.

[0076] In one embodiment of the disclosure, the at least one polyhydroxyalkanoate is selected from the group consisting of: poly(3-hydroxypropionate) (P3HP); a copolymer of at least 3 hydroxybutyric acids selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxybutyric acid and 4-hydroxybutyric acid; a copolymer of 3-hydroxybutyric acid and 4-hydroxybutyric acid; poly(3-hydroxyvalerate) (P3HV); poly(4-hydroxyvalerate) (P4HV); poly(5-hydroxyvalerate) (P5HV); poly(3-hydroxymethyl valerate) (P3MHV); a copolymer of at least 3 hydroxyvaleric acids selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxyvaleric acid, 4-hydroxyvaleric acid, 5-hydroxyvaleric acid, and 3-hydroxymethyl valeric acid; poly(3-hydroxyhexanoate) (P3HHx); poly(4-hydroxyhexanoate) (P4HHx); poly(6-hydroxyhexanoate) (P6HHx); a copolymer of at least 3 hydroxyhexanoic acids selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxyhexanoic acid, 4-hydroxyhexanoic acid, and 6-hydroxyhexanoic acid; poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) (P3HO); poly(4-hydroxyoctanoate) (P4HO); poly(6-hydroxyoctanoate) (P6HO); a copolymer of at least 3 hydroxyoctanoic acids selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid, 4-hydroxyoctanoic acid, and 6-hydroxyoctanoic acid; poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) (P3HO); poly(4-hydroxyoctanoate) (P4HO); poly(6-hydroxyoctanoate) (P6HO); a copolymer of at least 3 hydroxyoctanoic acids selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid, 4-hydroxyoctanoic acid, and 6-hydroxyoctanoic acid; a copolyester of 3-hydroxybutyric acid with at least one monomer selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxypropionic acid, hydroxyvaleric acid, hydroxyhexanoic acid, hydroxyoctanoic acid, and hydroxyoctadecanoic acid; a copolyester of 4-hydroxybutyric acid with 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid [P(4HB-co-3HO)], a copolyester of 3-hydroxybutyric acid with 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid [P(3HB-co-3HO)], a copolyester of 4-hydroxybutyric acid with 3-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid [P(4HB-co-3HOd)], a copolyester of 3-hydroxybutyric acid with 3-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid [P(3HB-co-3HOd)]; a copolyester of hydroxyvaleric acid, in particular 3-hydroxyvaleric acid or 4-hydroxyvaleric acid, with at least one monomer selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxypropionic acid, hydroxyhexanoic acid, hydroxyoctanoic acid, and hydroxyoctadecanoic acid; a copolyester of 3-hydroxyhexanoic acid with at least one monomer selected from the group consisting of 3-hydroxypropionic acid, hydroxyoctanoic acid (preferably 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid), and hydroxyoctadecanoic acid.

[0077] Polylactide (PLA), also known as polylactic acid, is a thermoplastic polyester having the backbone chemical formula (C3H4O2)n or [-C(CH3)HC(=0)0-]n, obtained formally by condensation of lactic acid C(CH3)(OH)HCOOH while losing water. It can also be prepared by ring-opening polymerization of D-lactide, L-lactide, meso-lactide or mixtures thereof. In the case of polymerization of D-lactide or L-lactide only, the resulting polymer chains consist essentially of D-lactic acid units or L-lactic acid units, respectively. In the case of polymerization of a mixture of D-lactide and L-lactide, longer -(D)n and -(L)n sequences are obtained due to the random polymerization of D-lactide and L-lactide. In the case of PLA prepared from D-lactide and L-lactide only, i.e. without meso-lactide, the minimum block length of D-lactic acid units and L-lactic acid units in the polylactide is 2 from a theoretical point of view. This conclusion only applies to the specific case of a strictly alternating reaction of D-lactide with L-lactide. The aforementioned conclusion also holds when the following two mixtures are subjected to a polymerization reaction: a mixture of L-lactide with a small amount of meso-lactide, or a mixture of D-lactide with a small amount of meso-lactide.

[0078] The polylactide can be crystalline, semi-crystalline or amorphous. In particular, suitable polylactides have a melting or softening point of less than 240 °C, in particular less than 230 °C, especially less than 220 °C, as determined by DSC. Typically, the melting point of crystalline or semi-crystalline polylactides is at least 120 °C.

[0079] The polylactide can be obtained from NatureWorks, for example under the trade name Ingeo ™ 6201D, Ingeo ™ 6202D, Ingeo ™ 6251D, Ingeo ™ 3051D, Ingeo ™ 4043D, in particular Ingeo ™ 3251D, commercially available from Total Corbion under the trade name Luminy LX975, LX930, LX175; LX575, L130, LX530, in particular Luminy L105; commercially available from Hisun under the trade name Revode 110, 190, in particular Revode 290.

[0080] Polyglycolic acid Polyglycolic acid, also known as polyglycolide, is a biodegradable thermoplastic polymer and the simplest linear aliphatic polyester. It can be prepared from glycolic acid by polycondensation or from glycolide by ring-opening polymerization.

[0081] Polyglycolic acid includes homopolymers of glycolic acid consisting of only repeating units of glycolic acid represented by the formula -(0-CH2-CO)- (including ring-opening polymerization products of glycolide, which is a dimeric cyclic ester of glycolic acid) and copolymers of glycolic acid containing at least 70% by weight of the above-mentioned repeating units of glycolic acid.

[0082] Examples of comonomers for providing polyglycolic acid copolymers with glycolic acid monomers such as glycolide can include, but are not limited to: cyclic monomers including vinyl oxalate (i.e., 1,4-dioxane-2,3-dione); lactides; lactones such as beta-propiolactone, beta-butyrolactone; pivalolactone, gamma-butyrolactone, delta-valerolactone, beta-methyl-delta-valerolactone, and epsilon-caprolactone; carbonates such as propylene carbonate; ethers such as 1,3-dioxane; ether-esters such as p-dioxanone; and amides such as epsilon-caprolactam; hydroxycarboxylic acids such as lactic acid, 3-hydroxypropionic acid, 4-hydroxybutyric acid, and 6-hydroxyhexanoic acid, and their alkyl esters; essentially equimolar mixtures of aliphatic diols (such as ethylene glycol and 1,4-butanediol) with aliphatic dicarboxylic acids (such as succinic acid and adipic acid) and their alkyl or aryl esters; and two or more thereof. These monomers can be replaced by their polymers, which can be used as starting materials for providing polyglycolic acid copolymers with the above-mentioned glycolic acid monomers such as glycolide.

[0083] Polycaprolactone Polycaprolactone, more precisely poly-epsilon-caprolactone, is a class of linear aliphatic polyesters obtained by ring-opening polymerization of omega-caprolactone monomers under catalysis of metal organic compounds (e.g., tetraphenyl tin). Typically, polycaprolactone has a melting point of 59-64 °C and a glass transition temperature of -60 °C. Its structural repeating unit has 5 non-polar methylene groups -CH2- and one polar ester group -COO-, i.e., -(COOCH2CH2CH2CH2CH2-)n. This structure makes polycaprolactone have good flexible processability while having good biocompatibility.

[0084] Polycaprolactone is commercially available, for example, from Daicel under the product name Placcel ® or from Ingevity under the product names Capa™ 6400, Capa™ 6500, Capa™ 6800.

[0085] Starch As used herein, the term "starch" means starch itself and polymers derived from starch.

[0086] Starch is a natural polymer composed of amylose and amylopectin. Amylose is essentially a linear polymer with a molecular weight in the range of 100,000 to 500,000, while amylopectin is a highly branched polymer with a molecular weight of up to several million. Although starch is produced in many plants, typical sources include cereal seeds such as corn, waxy corn, wheat, sorghum, rice, and sticky rice; tubers such as potatoes; rhizomes such as cassava (i.e., cassava and manioc), sweet potato, and arrowroot; and the pith of the sago palm. Broadly speaking, any native (unmodified) starch and / or modified starch can be used as component c) in the biodegradable polymer composition. For example, it is common to employ modified starches that have been chemically modified by typical methods known in the art (e.g., esterification, etherification, oxidation, acid hydrolysis, enzymatic hydrolysis, etc.). Starch ethers and / or starch esters can be particularly desirable, such as hydroxyalkyl starches, carboxymethyl starches, and the like. The hydroxyalkyl groups of the hydroxyalkyl starches can contain, for example, 2 to 10 carbon atoms, in some embodiments 2 to 6 carbon atoms, and in some embodiments 2 to 4 carbon atoms. Representative hydroxyalkyl starches such as hydroxyethyl starch, hydroxypropyl starch, hydroxybutyl starch, and derivatives thereof. For example, starch esters can be prepared using a wide variety of anhydrides (e.g., acetic anhydride, propionic anhydride, butyric anhydride, etc.), organic acids, acid chlorides, or other esterification reagents. The degree of esterification can vary as desired, such as 1 to 3 ester groups per glucosidic unit of the starch.

[0087] Thermoplastic starch contains a plasticizer to impart melt processability to the starch. For example, starch is typically present in granular form, which is coated with a layer of coating or membrane that encapsulates the relatively water-soluble amylose and amylopectin chains inside the granule. Upon heating, the plasticizer can soften and penetrate the membrane, causing the internal starch chains to absorb water and swell. This swelling eventually causes the granule shell to rupture, triggering irreversible deconstruction of the granule. Once deconstructed, the starch polymer chains, which originally were tightly packed within the granule, stretch and form a generally disordered network of polymer chain entanglements. Upon resolidification, however, the starch polymer chains can reorient themselves to form a crystalline or amorphous solid, which has different strengths depending on the chain orientation. Because starch is thus able to melt and resolidify at certain temperatures, it is commonly referred to as "thermoplastic starch."

[0088] Suitable plasticizers can include, for example, water, polyol plasticizers such as sugars (e.g., glucose, sucrose, fructose, raffinose, maltodextrin, galactose, xylose, maltose, lactose, mannose, and erythrose), sugar alcohols (e.g., erythritol, xylitol, maltitol, mannitol, and sorbitol), polyols (e.g., ethylene glycol, glycerol, polyglycerol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, butylene glycol, and hexane triol), and the like. Water present in the starch granules can also be used as a plasticizer in cases where the starch granules contain a sufficiently high amount of water. Also suitable are organic compounds that do not contain hydroxyl groups but are capable of forming hydrogen bonds, including urea and urea derivatives; sugar alcohol anhydrides such as sorbitan; animal proteins such as gelatin; plant proteins such as sunflower protein, soy protein, cottonseed protein; and mixtures thereof. Other suitable plasticizers can include: phthalates, dimethyl and diethyl succinate and related esters, glyceryl triacetate, mono / diacetyl glycerol, mono / di / tri propionyl glycerol, butyric acid esters, stearates, lactic acid esters, citric acid esters, adipic acid esters, stearic acid esters, oleic acid esters, and other acidic esters. Aliphatic acids such as ethylene-propylene acid copolymers, maleic acid grafted polyethylene, butadiene-acrylic acid copolymers, butadiene-maleic acid copolymers, propylene-acrylic acid copolymers, propylene-maleic acid copolymers, and other hydrocarbyl acids can also be used. Low molecular weight plasticizers are preferred, such as less than about 20,000 g / mol, preferably less than about 5,000 g / mol, and more preferably less than about 1,000 g / mol. Preferred plasticizers are water, glycerol, oligoglycerol, sorbitol, and hydrogenated hydrolyzed starch syrup (CAS 68425-17-2).

[0089] The relative amounts of starch and plasticizer used in the thermoplastic starch can vary depending on a variety of factors, such as the desired molecular weight, the type of starch, the affinity of the plasticizer for the starch, and the like. However, the starch typically comprises from about 30 wt% to about 95 wt% of the thermoplastic starch, in some embodiments from about 40 wt% to about 90 wt%, and in some embodiments from about 50 wt% to about 85 wt%. Likewise, the plasticizer typically comprises from about 5 wt% to about 55 wt% of the thermoplastic composition, in some embodiments from about 10 wt% to about 45 wt%, and in some embodiments from about 15 wt% to about 35 wt%. Depending on the intended use of the polymer composition, different composition ranges can be more suitable, see below.

[0090] The starch can be selected from the group consisting of cereal flour, native starch, modified starch, hydrolyzed starch, destructured starch, gelatinized starch, plasticized starch, thermoplastic starch, composite starch-containing biopack, and mixtures thereof.

[0091] Preferably, the starch polymer is selected from native starch, more preferably from corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, pea starch, wheat starch or rice starch, and most preferably from native corn or wheat starch, particularly preferably corn starch.

[0092] In embodiments, the chemical product can include an aliphatic polyester.

[0093] In embodiments, the chemical product can include an aliphatic-aromatic polyester.

[0094] In embodiments, the chemical product can include a polyhydroxyalkanoate.

[0095] In embodiments, the chemical product can include a polylactide.

[0096] In embodiments, the chemical product can include a polyglycolic acid.

[0097] In embodiments, the chemical product can include a polycaprolactone.

[0098] In embodiments, the chemical product can include starch.

[0099] In embodiments, the chemical product can be a formulation.

[0100] In embodiments, the chemical product can be a personal care product.

[0101] In embodiments, the chemical product can include a detergent.

[0102] In embodiments, the chemical product can include a functional compound.

[0103] In embodiments, a functional compound can comprise a chemical material providing functionality related to application properties of a chemical product. For example, a polymer in a detergent, a washing material, a UV filter polymer in a sunscreen product. In embodiments, a functional compound can refer to a molecule having a molecular mass below 10,000 g / mol. More preferably, the compound has a molecular weight of less than 600 g / mol, even more preferably less than 300 g / mol. Further, it is preferred that the functional compound is present in the environment in a form allowing a simple structural formula comprising relevant information to fully describe the molecule. A simple molecular structure refers to a molecule that can be explicitly described by covalent bonding between atoms of the molecule. In cases where this is not the case, examples are e.g. systems having a dynamic equilibrium between several forms, like monomers and oligomers in the case of several inorganic acids, or ionic species having very localized charges that interact strongly with the solvent, e.g. by hydrogen bonds. The functional compound can have one or more of the following properties: having an influence on the body of an organism, being suitable to influence the structure of the body of an organism or being suitable to influence the function of the body of an organism. In embodiments, the functional compound comprises at least one of the following functional groups: ester group, ether group, lactone group, hydroxyl group, carbonyl group, phenol group, amide group, amine group, alkyl group, alkylene group, phenyl group, ketone group, aldehyde group, acetal group, ketal group, thiol group, sulfide group or combinations thereof. Preferably, the functional compound corresponds to one of the following compound classes: carboxyl derivative, ether group, amine group, hydroxyl group, carbonyl group, alkane group, alkene group, benzene derivative, pyridine derivative, halide group.

[0104] In embodiments, a decomposition product can comprise a part of a chemical product after enzyme-induced degradation or conversion of the chemical product. For example, an amine can be converted into an alcohol. In embodiments, an initial decomposition product can comprise a decomposition product after a first step of enzyme-induced denaturation of a chemical material. In embodiments, a residual decomposition product can comprise a decomposition product that is (substantially) inert to enzyme-induced degradation of a chemical product in a biodegradation habitat. In embodiments, generating a decomposition product can refer to determining a decomposition product. In embodiments, providing a decomposition product can refer to providing a digital representation of a decomposition product.

[0105] In embodiments, a biodegradation habitat can refer to an environment in which biodegradation occurs. In embodiments, a biodegradation habitat can include a biotic community, such as the presence of microorganisms and other organisms that facilitate the decomposition of chemical materials. A biodegradation habitat can refer to the properties of a biodegradation habitat. A biodegradation habitat can refer to the properties of a biodegradation habitat and associated property values. In embodiments, a biodegradation habitat can refer to one or more properties of a biodegradation habitat. In embodiments, a biodegradation habitat can refer to one or more properties of a biodegradation habitat and corresponding associated one or more property values. In embodiments, a biodegradation habitat property can refer to any of a marine habitat, a wastewater habitat, a freshwater habitat, a lake habitat, an anaerobic habitat, a compost habitat, or a soil habitat.

[0106] In embodiments, an intended biodegradation habitat can refer to a biodegradation habitat in which biodegradation of a chemical product is intended. Examples can be wastewater for a detergent, compost for a biodegradable shopping bag, soil for an agricultural film.

[0107] In embodiments, an unintended biodegradation habitat can refer to a habitat that is not intended for biodegradation of a chemical product. A reason why a chemical material can end up in an unintended habitat can be littering or mismanagement of waste streams.

[0108] In embodiments, access to biodegradation data associated with an unintended habitat can be limited. It can be beneficial to exclude end consumers from accessing biodegradation data associated with unintended habitats to prevent incentives for littering.

[0109] In embodiments, access to biodegradation data can be limited according to the authentication and / or authorization methods disclosed herein.

[0110] In one embodiment, the decentralized identifier can include any unique identifier uniquely associated with the data owner and biodegradation data. The decentralized identifier can include one or more universally unique identifiers (UUIDs) and / or digital identifiers (DIDs). The decentralized identifier can be associated with a digital twin of a chemical product, the digital twin including biodegradation data. The decentralized identifier can be associated with a physical entity of a chemical product. The UUIDs and DIDs are in any combination. The decentralized identifier can be issued by a centralized or decentralized identity issuer. The decentralized identifier can be generated by the data owner or on behalf of the data owner. The decentralized identifier can include one or more identifiers used in a decentralized network and allowing data exchange via the decentralized network. The data exchange can include discovering the decentralized identifier for a participant node of the decentralized network, authenticating the participant node of the decentralized network, and / or authorizing data transfer via peer-to-peer communication between participant nodes of the decentralized network. The decentralized identifier can be associated with any participant of a chemical material ecosystem, including a raw material supplier, an intermediate product manufacturer, a chemical product manufacturer, a chemical product distributor, a chemical product retailer, a chemical product end consumer, a chemical product collector (such as a waste collector), a chemical product recycler, and a waste management facility. The decentralized identifier can be associated with a machine, system, or device for chemical product recycling that produces a chemical product waste collection or processing in a waste management facility, or a collection of such machines, devices, and / or systems. The decentralized identifier can be a digital identifier of the decentralized network or for the decentralized network. The decentralized identifier can be a digital identifier provided to the decentralized network and participant nodes of the decentralized network. Thus, such a decentralized identifier can represent a physical entity of a chemical product in the decentralized network, and a participant node can be able to interpret the relationship of the decentralized identifier to the physical entity of the chemical product. The decentralized identifier can include authentication information. Via the decentralized identifier and its unique association with the data owner and biodegradation data, access to the biodegradation data can be controlled by the data owner. This is in contrast to a central authority scheme in which the identifier is provided by such a central authority and access to the data is controlled by such a central authority. In this context, decentralized refers to the use of the identifier in an implementation controlled by the data owner.

[0111] In embodiments, the chemical product passport can also include a data owner’s public key and / or a chemical product identifier associated with the chemical product. The chemical product identifier can include a batch number, a chemical product name, a chemical product ID, a part number, a LOT number, or a combination thereof. The LOT number can be assigned to the chemical product at the time of production or after production. The chemical product identifier allows for uniquely identifying the physical entity of the respective chemical product, thereby linking all data associated with the identifier (e.g., biodegradation data and decentralized identifier) to the physical entity of the chemical product.

[0112] The chemical product can be produced from one or more chemical materials. The chemical materials can be chemical feedstocks or intermediate chemical products. The chemical feedstocks can include monomers and chain extenders used to produce polymers, in particular biodegradable polymers such as described above. The intermediate chemical products can include polymer antioxidants, accelerators, and antioxidants.

[0113] In embodiments, the biodegradation data can be associated with the chemical product, in particular uniquely associated. The biodegradation data can include data associated with the biodegradability properties of the chemical product.

[0114] The biodegradation data associated with the biodegradability properties of the chemical product provides a data point that is indicative of the environmental compatibility of the chemical product.

[0115] The biodegradation data associated with the biodegradability properties of the chemical product can include data associated with the chemical product as produced. The biodegradation data can include data associated with the biodegradability properties of the chemical product, can include data associated with the properties of the chemical materials used to produce the chemical product, or data associated with at least one property related to the use of the chemical materials used to produce the chemical product.

[0116] The biodegradation data associated with the biodegradability properties of the chemical product can include an identifier of the chemical product, such as a name of the chemical product.

[0117] Biodegradation data associated with the biodegradability properties of a chemical product can include data associated with test methods, particularly standardized test methods. Data associated with test methods can be associated with one or more elements of the following group of test methods: DIN EN ISO 17556; December 2012, OECD 301; July 1992, ASTM D 5338, Standard Test Method for Determining Aerobic Biodegradation of Plastics Materials Under Controlled Composting Conditions, September 1998, ASTM D 6002, Standard Guide for Assessing the Compostability of Environmentally Degradable Plastics, October 1996, ASTM D 6400, Standard Specification for Compostable Plastic, May 1999, DIN EN ISO 13432, Anforderung an die Verwertung von Verpackungen durch Kompostierung und biologischen Abbau - Prüfschema und Bewertungskriterien für die Einstufung von Verpackungen, December 2000, DIN EN ISO 11734, Wasserbeschaffenheit - Bestimmung der vollständigen anaeroben biologischen Abbaubarkeit organischer Verbindungen im Faulschlamm - Verfahren durch Messung der Biogasproduktion, November 1998, DIN V 54900-1 Prüfung der Kompostierbarkeit von Kunststoffen - Teil 1: Chemische Prüfung, October 1998, DIN V 54900-2,Prufung der Kompostierbarkeit von Kunststoffen - Teil 2: Prufung auf vollstandige Abbaubarkeit von Kunststoffen in Laborversuchen, September 1998, DIN V 54900-3, Prufung der Kompostierbarkeit von Kunststoffen - Teil 3: Prufung unter praxisrelevanten Bedingungen und der Qualitat der Komposte, September 1998, E, DIN 54900-4, Prufung der Kompostierbarkeit von polymeren Werkstoffen - Teil 4: Prufung der Okotoxizitat der Komposte, January 1997, ISO 14851, Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability of plastic materials in an aqueous medium - Method by measuring the oxygen demand in a closed respirometer, May 1999, DIN EN ISO 14852, Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability of plastics materials in an aqueous medium - Method by analysis of evolved carbon dioxide, May 1999, DIN EN ISO 14855, Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability and disintegration of plastic materials under controlled composting conditions - Method by analysis of evolved carbon dioxide, May 1999, ISO / DIS 14853,Plastics - Determination of the ultimate anaerobic biodegradability in an aqueous system - Method by measurement of biogas production, April 1999, and ISO / DIS 15985, Plastics - Determination of the ultimate anaerobic biodegradability and disintegration under high-solids anaerobic-digestion conditions - Method by analysis of released biogas, April 1999.

[0118] Standardized tests typically strike a balance between time efficiency tests (14 days up to 24 months) and realistic conditions.

[0119] Each of the disclosed test methods can indicate a biodegradation habitat.

[0120] Providing data associated with the test methods enables an understanding of the biodegradation data. This is important because it allows for repeatability and comparability of the tests, and thus, repeatability and comparability of the biodegradation data.

[0121] Biodegradation data associated with the biodegradability properties of a chemical product can include data associated with a biodegradation habitat. Data associated with a habitat can indicate a type of habitat, such as a marine habitat, a wastewater habitat, a freshwater habitat, a lake habitat, an anaerobic habitat, a compost habitat, or a soil habitat. Data associated with a habitat can also include habitat parameters, where the habitat parameters can include parameters associated with properties of the biodegradation habitat.

[0122] Parameters associated with properties of a marine habitat can include at least one of the following: a salt concentration, a sediment type, an oxygen level, a water temperature, a nutrient concentration (e.g., nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, and / or dissolved organic carbon concentration), a pH value, an oxygen content, a microbial community, a concentration of the microbial community, an enzyme concentration, an enzyme type, a fungal population, a bacterial population.

[0123] Parameters associated with the nature of the wastewater habitat can include at least one of the following: water temperature, microbial community, sludge concentration, nutrient concentration (e.g., nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, and / or dissolved organic carbon concentration), pH, solids content, enzyme environment, concentration of microbial community, enzyme concentration, enzyme type, fungal population, bacterial population. In embodiments, the nature of the wastewater habitat can also include data associated with sludge, including data associated with at least one of sludge solids content, sludge pH, sludge nutrient content, sludge heavy metal content, sludge microbial community, enzyme concentration, enzyme type, fungal population, bacterial population.

[0124] Parameters associated with the nature of the soil habitat can include at least one of the following: temperature, soil composition (e.g., sand and / or clay content), pH, moisture content, nutrient concentration (e.g., nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, and / or dissolved organic carbon concentration), microbial community, water holding capacity, and enzyme environment, concentration of microbial community, and enzyme concentration, enzyme concentration, enzyme type, fungal population, bacterial population.

[0125] Parameters associated with the nature of the compost habitat can include at least one of the following: temperature, compost activity, pH, moisture content, humidity, desired compost maturity, compost composition, compost source, nutrient concentration, microbial community, solids content, water holding capacity, and enzyme environment, enzyme concentration, enzyme type, fungal population, bacterial population.

[0126] Biodegradability data associated with the biodegradation properties of the chemical product can include data associated with an intended habitat. Biodegradation data associated with an intended habitat can include data disclosed about a biodegradation habitat.

[0127] Biodegradability data associated with the biodegradation properties of the chemical product can include data associated with an unintended habitat. Data associated with an unintended habitat can include data disclosed about a biodegradation habitat.

[0128] Market access for a chemical product can require that the chemical product is also biodegradable in unintended habitats. Providing data associated with unintended habitats allows for the identification of whether a chemical material is capable of biodegrading various habitat conditions.

[0129] Biodegradability data associated with the biodegradability properties of a chemical product may include data related to the quantification of the degree of biodegradation of the chemical product. For example, biodegradability data may include only one value, such as the half-life of the chemical product in a given habitat, or it may refer to more than one value, such as a degradation function of the chemical product over time in a specific habitat. Preferably, biodegradability may refer to the percentage of biodegradation after a predetermined time range. In embodiments, biodegradability data may be associated with a ratio of biochemical oxygen demand (mg), which may be the amount of oxygen consumed by microorganisms (BOD) when metabolizing the chemical product; it may also be expressed as mg oxygen uptake / mg test compound relative to the theoretical oxygen demand (mg), which may be the total amount of oxygen required to completely oxidize the chemical product (ThOD); ThOD may be calculated from the molecular formula of the chemical product. Alternatively or additionally, biodegradability data may include the ratio of the CO2 produced to the theoretical amount of carbon dioxide (ThCO2) produced during complete biodegradation, calculated based on the known or measured carbon content of the chemical product at complete biodegradation. Biodegradation data may also include emission data associated with CO2 emissions caused by biodegradation, and data associated with the lag period, i.e., the time period from inoculation to when the biodegradation level reaches approximately 10%. In the implementation plan, data associated with the quantification of the degree of biodegradation of the chemical may be correlated with the appropriate testing methods.

[0130] This is important because the biodegradability of chemical products varies greatly depending on the habitat. Specifically, a chemical product may be biodegradable, for example, in compost, but not in water. Including data associated with biodegradable habitats allows for the determination of biodegradability in a variety of environments.

[0131] In the implementation plan, biodegradation data may be correlated with microplastic data, which is related to the amount of microplastics introduced into the habitat through biodegradation.

[0132] While people frequently look for microplastics in personal care products, what has been overlooked until now is that decomposition products that do not further degrade during the biodegradation process can form microplastics.

[0133] In the implementation plan, microplastic data can be correlated with the degree of biodegradation of the habitat.

[0134] In the implementation plan, microplastic data can be correlated with the degree of biodegradation in the expected habitat. Different methods for determining the degree of biodegradation are disclosed with reference to the biodegradation tests described herein.

[0135] In the implementation plan, microplastic data can be correlated with the degree of biodegradation in unintended habitats.

[0136] In embodiments, if the degree of biodegradation in the intended habitat and in the unintended habitat is 100%, the microplastic data can indicate no biodegradation of microplastics.

[0137] Including microplastic data in the biodegradation data allows to assess the environmental impact of the chemical material.

[0138] The amount of microplastics generated by biodegradation is a big problem for plastics.

[0139] The biodegradation data associated with the biodegradability properties of the chemical product can comprise data associated with the decomposition products. The data associated with the decomposition products can comprise a numerical representation of the decomposition products. The data associated with the decomposition products can comprise toxicity data associated with the toxicity of the decomposition products.

[0140] Providing toxicity data associated with the toxicity of the decomposition products is important as it allows to control that no toxicological decomposition products are released during the biodegradation of the chemical product. This helps to protect the environment.

[0141] The data associated with the decomposition products can comprise the respective lifetime of the decomposition products, in particular in the biodegradation habitat of the chemical product.

[0142] In embodiments, the biodegradation data can comprise a list of compatible chemical products for further processing. The compatible chemical products can comprise biodegradable chemical materials. Additionally or alternatively, the compatible chemical products can comprise products that yield biodegradable end products and / or biodegradable intermediate products when treated with biodegradable chemical materials. Using compatible chemical products ensures biodegradability along the value chain up to the end product.

[0143] In embodiments, the recipe data associated with the recipe can comprise instructions for producing the biodegradable chemical product from more than one input material comprising the chemical material. In particular, the recipe data associated with the recipe can comprise data associated with the more than one input material and the respective amounts. The recipe data can further comprise data associated with the feed rate of the individual input materials. The recipe data can further comprise data associated with the reaction temperature and / or temperature profile. The recipe data can further comprise data associated with the dosing time. The recipe can further comprise data associated with the pressure. The recipe can further comprise data associated with the post-reaction time. The recipe can further comprise data associated with the mixing speed. In particular, the recipe data comprises control data suitable for controlling the production of the biodegradable chemical product.

[0144] The following table shows an example of a recipe for a polymer according to the present disclosure.

[0145] In embodiments, the chemical product produced by the recipe can be a formulation, which can comprise a mixture of more than one input material mixed in a defined ratio. Formulations encompass paints, personal care products, detergents, lubricants, and the like. In particular, personal care products and detergents are consumables. They are typically intended to be used with water. Thus, the intended habitat of a personal care product and / or a detergent can be wastewater. Accordingly, biodegradation data for a personal care product can comprise data indicative of OECD 301. Raw materials for a formulation can comprise a combination of polymers and / or functional compounds. Biodegradable formulations can refer to formulations that can be degraded by biological processes, in particular, biodegradable formulations can comprise formulations that can be assimilated by bacteria and / or fungi.

[0146] In embodiments, biodegradation data related to the biodegradability properties of a chemical product can comprise recipe data related to a recipe for producing a biodegradable intermediate product and / or a biodegradable end product from a chemical material.

[0147] In embodiments, recipe data can comprise instructions for producing a biodegradable chemical product from more than one input material comprising a chemical material.

[0148] Providing production instructions ensures that following the instructions results in a biodegradable intermediate product and / or end product being produced. This enables a producer of the intermediate product and / or end product to obtain a biodegradable chemical product.

[0149] In embodiments, recipe data associated with a recipe can comprise data associated with more than one input material, including a chemical material and respective amounts for producing a biodegradable chemical intermediate product and / or end product.

[0150] Including data associated with more than one input material, including a chemical material and respective amounts, ensures the use of a biodegradable intermediate product and / or end product is generated.

[0151] Recipe data can comprise a temperature and / or a temperature profile. Recipe data can comprise a pressure and / or a pressure profile.

[0152] In embodiments, recipe data can comprise operational parameters for producing a biodegradable chemical intermediate product and / or end product from input materials comprising a chemical material. In particular, operational parameters can be provided as control signals suitable for controlling equipment for producing a biodegradable material.

[0153] This allows for operating production equipment based on operational parameters and / or control data, thereby enabling the production of a biodegradable intermediate product and / or end product.

[0154] In embodiments, the operational parameters can include temperature and / or temperature profile. Temperature directly influences chemical reactions and bond building. By providing a target temperature, the bonds that can be broken by enzymatic reactions to form can be controlled, so the intermediate products and / or end products produced are biodegradable.

[0155] In embodiments, the operational parameters can include pressure. Pressure influences chemical reactions and bond building. By providing a target pressure, the bonds that can be broken by enzymatic reactions to form can be controlled, so the intermediate products and / or end products produced are biodegradable.

[0156] In embodiments, the operational parameters can include reaction time. Reaction time influences chemical reactions and bond building. By providing a target reaction time, the bonds that can be broken by enzymatic reactions to form can be controlled, so the intermediate products and / or end products produced are biodegradable.

[0157] In embodiments, the formulation data can include control data suitable for controlling production of biodegradable chemical intermediate products and / or end products. In embodiments, the control data suitable for controlling production can include any or any combination of the disclosed formulation data.

[0158] Inclusion of control data in the biodegradation data of chemical materials enables control of the production process, ensuring that the intermediate chemical products and / or end products produced are biodegradable.

[0159] In embodiments, the biodegradation data associated with chemical materials can include waste treatment data associated with treatment instructions for treating biodegradable end products at end of life.

[0160] Inclusion of treatment data in the biodegradation data can improve biodegradation rates.

[0161] As mentioned above, the biodegradability of chemical products is highly dependent on the habitat.

[0162] Improvement of biodegradation rates can depend on proper treatment of biodegradable products.

[0163] In embodiments, the data associated with the treatment instructions can include one or more of a required temperature, a required temperature range, a required microbial community, and a required retention time, a required enzyme.

[0164] Providing treatment data associated with treatment instructions including a required retention time ensures that the chemical products remain in the waste management treatment facility until biodegradation occurs. This reduces the risk of environmental pollution.

[0165] Providing treatment data associated with treatment instructions including a required temperature or a required temperature range ensures that biodegradation times are reduced. This allows for higher throughput in waste management facilities.

[0166] Providing treatment data associated with treatment instructions including desired microbial communities ensures a reduction in biodegradation time. This allows for higher throughput in waste management facilities.

[0167] In embodiments, the treatment data can include habitat-specific instructions for a particular habitat.

[0168] In embodiments, habitat-specific instructions for saltwater can include at least one of: a desired salt concentration, a desired settling type, a desired oxygen level, a desired water temperature, a desired nutrient concentration (e.g., nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, and / or dissolved organic carbon concentration), a desired pH, a desired oxygen content, a desired microbial community, a desired concentration of the desired microbial community, a desired enzyme concentration.

[0169] In embodiments, habitat-specific instructions for wastewater can include at least one of: a desired water temperature, a desired microbial community, a desired sludge concentration, a desired nutrient concentration (e.g., nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, and / or dissolved organic carbon concentration), a desired pH, a desired solids content, a desired enzyme environment, a desired concentration of the desired microbial community, and a desired enzyme concentration. In embodiments, biodegradation data associated with treatment instructions can include other data associated with sludge, including data associated with at least one of: a desired sludge solids content, a desired sludge pH, a desired sludge nutrient content, a desired sludge heavy metal content, a desired sludge microbial community.

[0170] In embodiments, habitat-specific instructions for soil can include at least one of: a desired temperature, a desired soil composition (e.g., sand and / or clay content), a desired pH, a desired moisture content, a desired nutrient concentration (e.g., nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, and / or dissolved organic carbon concentration), a desired microbial community, a desired water holding capacity, and a desired enzyme environment, a desired concentration of the desired microbial community, and a desired enzyme concentration.

[0171] In embodiments, habitat-specific instructions for compost can include at least one of: a desired temperature, a desired compost activity, a desired pH, a desired moisture content, a desired humidity, a desired compost maturity, a desired compost composition, a desired compost source, a desired nutrient concentration, a desired microbial community, a desired solids content, a desired water holding capacity, and a desired enzyme environment.

[0172] In embodiments, biodegradation information associated with treatment instructions can include operational data suitable for operating a waste management facility.

[0173] Biodegradation data can be generated or collected before, during, or after production of a chemical product. Biodegradation data can be generated by any participant in the chemical product ecosystem, such as a raw material supplier, an intermediate product manufacturer, a chemical product manufacturer, a testing laboratory that performs biodegradation testing.

[0174] The biodegradation data can be associated with the chemical product produced. The biodegradation data can be updated based on subsequent processes and / or production steps. Subsequent process steps can for example change the biodegradation data, in particular the biodegradation data associated with the degree of biodegradability. The raw material can for example be biodegradable, however the polymer produced can no longer be biodegradable. This can be reflected in the chemical material passport. The biodegradation data can be associated with a property of the chemical material used to produce the chemical product or at least one property related to the use of the chemical material used to produce the chemical product. The biodegradation data can comprise an identifier, such as a name of the chemical product, data associated with a property of the raw material used to produce the chemical product or at least one property related to the use of the chemical material used to produce the chemical product, an identifier of the chemical product produced, such as a name of the chemical product produced, including data associated with a test method, in particular a standardized test method. The data associated with the test method can be associated with one or more elements of the following group of test methods: DIN EN ISO 17556; December 2012, OECD 301; July 1992, ASTM D 5338, Standard Test Method for Determining Aerobic Biodegradation of Plastics Materials Under Controlled Composting Conditions, September 1998, ASTM D 6002, Standard Guide for Assessing the Compostability of Environmentally Degradable Plastics, October 1996, ASTM D 6400, Standard Specification for Compostable Plastic, May 1999, DIN EN ISO 13432, Anforderung an die Verwertung von Verpackungen durch Kompostierung und biologischen Abbau - Prüfschema und Bewertungskriterien für die Einstufung von Verpackungen, December 2000, DIN EN ISO 11734,Wasserbeschaffenheit - Bestimmung der vollständigen anaeroben biologischen Abbaubarkeit organischer Verbindungen im Faulschlamm - Verfahren durch Messung der Biogasproduktion, November 1998, DIN V 54900-1 Prufung der Kompostierbarkeit von Kunststoffen - Teil 1 : Chemische Prufung, October 1998, DIN V 54900-2, Prufung der Kompostierbarkeit von Kunststoffen - Teil 2: Prufung auf vollstandige Abbaubarkeit von Kunststoffen in Laborversuchen, September 1998, DIN V 54900-3, Prufung der Kompostierbarkeit von Kunststoffen - Teil 3: Prufung unter praxisrelevanten Bedingungen und der Qualitat der Komposte, September 1998, E, DIN 54900-4, Prufung der Kompostierbarkeit von polymeren Werkstoffen - Teil 4: Prufung der Okotoxizitat der Komposte, January 1997, ISO 14851, Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability of plastic materials in an aqueous medium - Method by measuring the oxygen demand in a closed respirometer, May 1999, DIN EN ISO 14852,Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability of plastics materials in an aqueous medium - Method by analysis of evolved carbon dioxide, May 1999, DIN EN ISO 14855, Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability and disintegration of plastic materials under controlled composting conditions - Method by analysis of evolved carbon dioxide, May 1999, ISO / DIS 14853, Plastics - Determination of the ultimate anaerobic biodegradability in an aqueous system - Method by measurement of biogas production, April 1999, and ISO / DIS 15985, Plastics - Determination of the ultimate anaerobic biodegradability and disintegration under high-solids anaerobic-digestion conditions - Method by analysis of released biogas, April 1999.

[0175] The feedstock biodegradation data can include data associated with a biodegradation habitat. The biodegradation data associated with the biodegradable properties of the produced product can include data associated with a quantification of the extent of biodegradation of the chemical product. The biodegradation data associated with the biodegradable properties of the produced chemical product can include microplastic data associated with the amount of microplastics introduced into a habitat by biodegradation. The biodegradation data associated with the biodegradable properties of the feedstock can include data associated with a decomposition product. The data associated with the decomposition product can include toxicity data associated with the toxicity of the decomposition product. The biodegradation data can include a list of compatible chemical products for further processing. The biodegradation data can include formulation data associated with a formulation, can include instructions for producing a biodegradable chemical product from a feedstock comprising a chemical material. The biodegradation data can include data related to production conditions provided by the operational system 402 of the chemical product production 304. The biodegradation data can include data related to a producer, such as a producer name, a producer brand, or a producer identifier. The biodegradation data can include a chemical product name, brand, or chemical product identifier.

[0176] The biodegradation data can include an identifier, such as a name of a chemical product digital representation of a decomposition product, data associated with a processing instruction, the data associated with a processing instruction can include one or more elements of a group of a required temperature, a required temperature range, a required microbial community, and a required retention time, biodegradation data of a feedstock and / or an intermediate product, wherein the biodegradation data of the feedstock and / or the intermediate product can include any combination of biodegradation data referenced by the biodegradation data disclosure of the chemical product. The biodegradation data can further include chemical composition data, emissions data, and / or production data. The biodegradation data can be stored in a database of or associated with a data owner. The biodegradation data can be stored in a database accessible to the data owner.

[0177] In embodiments, the emissions data can include data related to greenhouse gas emissions, for example, greenhouse gas emissions released in the biodegradation of a chemical product. The greenhouse gas emissions can include the following emissions: such as carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, methane (CH4) emissions, nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) emissions, perfluorocarbon (PFC) emissions, sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) emissions, nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) emissions, combinations thereof, and additional emissions.

[0178] In embodiments, the production data can include any data related to the production of a chemical product. The product data can include chemical product production data from the production of a chemical product. The production data can include monitoring and / or control data associated with the production of a chemical product. The production data can include measurement data related to the quality of a chemical product.

[0179] In embodiments, the data owner can include any entity that generates biodegradation data or portions thereof. The data generating node can be coupled to an entity that owns a chemical product for which biodegradation data is generated. The data generating node can be coupled to an entity that produces a chemical product for which biodegradation data is generated. The biodegradation data can be generated by a third party entity on behalf of an entity that owns a chemical product for which biodegradation data is generated. The biodegradation data can be generated by a third party entity on behalf of an entity that produces a chemical product for which biodegradation data is generated. The data owner can be a chemical product producer. The data owner can be a raw material producer. The data owner can be an intermediate chemical product producer owner. The data owner can have access to biodegradation data or portions thereof. Thus, the data owner can own biodegradation data or portions thereof directly or indirectly. The biodegradation data or portions thereof can be stored in a database of the data owner or associated with the data owner. The biodegradation data or portions thereof can be stored in a database accessible to the data owner. The biodegradation data or portions thereof can be stored in a database of the data owner or under the control of the data owner. The biodegradation data or portions thereof can be associated with the data owner. The data owner can be the owner of the biodegradation data or portions thereof. In this sense, the data owner should be interpreted broadly as an entity that has access to biodegradation data or portions thereof and controls access to the biodegradation data or portions thereof by data consuming services of the decentralized network. Access to the biodegradation data or portions thereof can be controlled by the data owner through the data providing service by the decentralized identifier and its unique association with the data owner and the biodegradation data or portions thereof.

[0180] In embodiments, the data consuming service can include computer executable instructions for accessing and / or processing data associated with a data owner, such as biodegradation data.

[0181] In embodiments, the data providing service can include computer executable instructions for providing and / or processing data associated with a data owner, such as biodegradation data, for access and / or processing by the data consuming service.

[0182] In embodiments, the physical entity can be related to a physical embodiment of a chemical product.

[0183] In embodiments, a processor can refer to a circuit that is configured to perform basic operations of a computer or system, and / or generally to a device configured for performing computations or logical operations. In particular, a processor or computer processor can be configured for processing basic instructions that drive a computer or system. It can be a semiconductor-based processor, a quantum processor, or any other type of processor configured for processing instructions. For example, the processor can be or can include a central processing unit (CPU). The processor can be a (“GPU”) graphics processing unit, a (“TPU”) tensor processing unit, a complex instruction set computing (“CISC”) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing (“RISC”) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (“VLIW”) microprocessor, or a processor implementing other instruction sets or a processor implementing a combination of instruction sets. The processing means can also be one or more special-purpose processing devices, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), a field-programmable gate array (“FPGA”), a complex programmable logic device (“CPLD”), a digital signal processor (“DSP”), a network processor, etc. The methods, systems, and devices described herein can be implemented as software in a DSP, in a microcontroller, or in any other side processor, or as hardware circuitry within an ASIC, CPLD, or FPGA. It should be understood that the term processor can also refer to a distributed system of one or more processing devices, such as processing devices located on multiple computer systems (e.g., cloud computing), and is not limited to a single device, unless otherwise noted. The processor can be considered a sub-portion of a processor, where the sub-portion executes the methods disclosed herein in the form of threads, containers, and / or virtual machines.

[0184] In embodiments, a computing node can refer to any device or system including at least one physical and tangible processor and physical and tangible memory capable of having computer-executable instructions executed thereon by the processor. The computing node can be, for example, a handheld device, a manufacturing facility, a sensor, a monitoring system, a control system, an appliance, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a mainframe, a data center, or even a device that is not traditionally considered a computing node, such as a wearable device (e.g., glasses, watches, etc.). The memory can take any form and depends on the nature and form of the computing node.

[0185] In embodiments, distributed computing can be implemented. Distributed computing can refer to any computing that utilizes multiple computing resources. Such use can be implemented through virtualization of physical computing resources. One example of distributed computing is cloud computing. “Cloud computing” can refer to a model for enabling on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services). When distributed, a cloud computing environment can be distributed internationally within an organization and / or across multiple organizations. In embodiments, distributed computing can be implemented in a federated network.

[0186] In embodiments, memory can refer to physical system memory, which can be volatile, non-volatile, or a combination thereof. The memory can include non-volatile mass storage such as physical storage media. Memory can be computer-readable storage media such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other physical and tangible storage medium which can be used to store desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a computing system. Additionally, memory can be computer-readable media that carry computer executable instructions (also known as computer-readable media). Additionally, program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures can be transferred to storage media from computer-readable media (or vice versa) when a computing system is accessed. For example, computer-executable instructions or data structures received over a network or data link can be buffered in the RAM of a network interface module (e.g., a "NIC"), and then eventually transferred to computing system RAM and / or to non-volatile storage media at a computing system. Thus, it should be understood that storage media can be included in computing system components that also (or even primarily) utilize transmission media.

[0187] In embodiments, a wireless communication protocol can be used. The wireless communication protocol can include any known network technology such as GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) / HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology using standards such as 2G, 3G, 4G or 5G. The wireless communication protocol can also include a wireless local area network (WLAN), for example, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi).

[0188] In one embodiment, the request to provide a decentralized identifier comprises biodegradability data and / or an owner or chemical product identifier associated with the data owner or chemical product, respectively. The owner / chemical product identifier can be a string identifier associated with the data owner name or chemical product name. The owner or chemical product identifier can be provided by a physical identifier provider, such as a barcode or a tag, like an RFID tag or a QR code. Such a physical identifier provider can be associated with a data sheet or a package. Specifically, in case the chemical product is provided in liquid form, the physical identifier provider can be provided on the packaging of the chemical material. This communication can be done via ad-hoc WIFI, BLE beacons and / or NFC. The communication between the wallet applications can be performed via any available communication channel, including but not limited to a web server, ad-hoc WIFI, BLE beacon signals, NFC, barcode or QR code scanning, etc. With the owner identifier, the generated chemical product passport can be associated with the biodegradability data owner by including the owner identifier. The owner identifier can be used for data transactions, such as sharing or exchanging of biodegradability data. The owner identifier can be provided to a transaction manager. By providing the decentralized identifier of the data owner and the owner identifier to the transaction manager or data consumption service, tracking of data transactions can be simplified. Any transaction in the data ecosystem can be associated, for example, with the explicit name of the data owner.

[0189] The request can also contain an authentication mechanism, such as a public-private key pair, and / or an identifier associated with the unit providing the decentralized identifier. This allows routing the request to a specific decentralized identifier provider. Depending on the decentralized identifier to be requested, the authentication mechanism can be retrieved from an authenticated data store, such as a vault.

[0190] The request to provide a decentralized identifier can be associated with the chemical product production producing the chemical product. The request to provide a decentralized identifier can be generated by a computing system of the chemical product production producing the chemical product, such as an operating system. The request can be triggered at a predefined occurrence rate. For example, a detector can detect the produced chemical product. Based on this identification, a computing device, such as an operating system of the chemical product production, can generate a request to provide a decentralized identifier. The generated request can be provided to a decentralized identifier generator comprised in the device for generating the chemical product passport. In response to receiving the request, the decentralized identifier generator can generate a decentralized identifier and provide the generated decentralized identifier.

[0191] In one embodiment, the decentralized identifier is provided by one central node or by one or more decentralized nodes. The decentralized identifier generated by one central node or by one or more decentralized nodes can be provided to the nodes generating the chemical product passport and / or the digital access element, and to at least one authentication data registry node, preferably accessible by the data providing service and / or the data consuming service. This enables customized data sharing or exchange regarding the chemical product and the chemical product value chain using the chemical product. In particular, the data providing service and / or the data consuming service can customize the data sharing or exchange protocol based on anchoring the decentralized identifier to biodegradation data. The authentication data registry node can be a central registry node, such as a central file system, a centrally managed distributed database, and / or a centrally managed peer-to-peer network. The central configuration allows for more control and standardization via the central node. The authentication data registry node can be a decentralized registry, such as a distributed ledger, a decentralized file system, a distributed database, and / or a peer-to-peer network. The decentralized configuration allows for more efficient use of computing resources and strengthens the control of the data owner. Furthermore, the decentralized configuration is independent of the centrally managed nodes and thus increases the reliability and flexibility of the system.

[0192] In one embodiment, the generation of a chemical product passport comprises providing a decentralized identifier associated with a physical entity of a chemical product. In this context, the physical entity can relate to the physical chemical product associated with the decentralized identifier. The decentralized identifier can be associated with the physical entity of the chemical product for which the biodegradation data or the chemical product passport is associated. For example, the decentralized identifier can be associated with the physical entity of the chemical product. The decentralized identifier can be associated with the chemical product via a physical identifier. The physical identifier can comprise or correspond to an identifier element comprised within or attached to the chemical product. The physical identifier can refer to, for example, a chemical product identifier. The identifier element can comprise a passive or active element such as, for example, a barcode, a QR code, an embossed code, or an RFID tag. The decentralized identifier can be assigned to the physical identifier. The assignment can comprise generating a code that has embedded the provided decentralized identifier. The assignment can comprise associating the provided decentralized identifier with the physical identifier of the chemical product. For example, the identifier element can be physically attached to the chemical product or comprised within the chemical product, wherein the identifier element can comprise or correspond to the physical identifier. The determination or acquisition of the physical identifier can be considered as a trigger for the provision of the decentralized identifier and possibly also for the subsequent assignment between the physical identifier and the decentralized identifier. The decentralized identifier can be associated with the physical entity to be supplied with the chemical product and for which the biodegradation data is associated. For example, the decentralized identifier can be associated with the physical entity to which the chemical product is attached. The decentralized identifier can be associated with more than one physical entity to be supplied with the chemical product and for which the biodegradation data is associated. The association of the decentralized identifier with different physical entity stages in the chemical product value chain allows to virtually track the chemical product in the chemical product value chain. This way, the chemical product with its associated biodegradation data can be tracked, for example, until the end of life.

[0193] In one embodiment, the chemical product passport comprises one or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier and the biodegradation data or parts thereof. The authentication mechanisms can be directly or indirectly related to the decentralized identifier and the data related to the biodegradation data. In an example of an indirect relationship, the authentication mechanisms can be related to a certificate mechanism. For example, upon an access request of the data consumption service, a dynamic access token can be generated based on the certificate mechanism. Such a dynamic access token can be used to open a peer-to-peer communication channel between the data consumption service and the data provision service associated with the chemical product passport. The authentication mechanisms can comprise tokens such as a private and public key infrastructure, a certificate mechanism, or a biometric mechanism such as a fingerprint, facial recognition, or voice recognition, etc. One public public key certificate is, for example, an X.509 certificate. With the authentication mechanisms, the access to the data consumption service can be controlled in a secure way and the integrity of the data provision service can be ensured. This allows a more reliable, controlled, and secure exchange or sharing of data.

[0194] One or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier generated by one central node or by one or more decentralized nodes can be provided to the node generating the chemical product passport and to at least one decentralized authentication data registry, preferably accessible by data providing services and / or data consuming services. The authentication data registry can be a centralized registry, such as a central file system, a centrally managed distributed database, and / or a centrally managed peer-to-peer network. The centralized configuration allows for higher control and standardization via the central node. The authentication data registry can be a decentralized registry, such as a distributed ledger, a decentralized file system, a distributed database, and / or a peer-to-peer network. The decentralized configuration allows for more efficient use of computing resources and strengthens the control of the data owner.

[0195] In one embodiment, the chemical product passport is associated with or comprises one or more authorization mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier and data related to biodegradation data. The authorization mechanisms can comprise authorization rules including data transaction instructions or data transaction protocols, such as data usage policies, smart data contracts, or more complex data processing instructions associated with data providing and / or data consuming services. Through the authorization mechanisms, access to biodegradation data or portions thereof and usage of said data by data consuming services can be controlled in a secure manner. One or more authorization mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier generated by one central node or by one or more decentralized nodes can be provided to the node for generating or processing the chemical product passport or for accessing biodegradation data or portions thereof. Additionally or alternatively, one or more authorization mechanisms can be provided to at least one central or decentralized authorization data registry, preferably accessible by data providing services and / or data consuming services.

[0196] In one embodiment, one or more authorization mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier generated by one or more decentralized nodes can be provided to the node generating or processing the chemical product passport and to at least one of a central file system, a centrally managed distributed database, a centrally managed peer-to-peer network, a distributed ledger, a decentralized file system, a distributed database, and / or a peer-to-peer network, preferably accessible by data providing services and / or data consuming services.

[0197] In one embodiment, the data related to the biodegradation data comprises the biodegradation data or a portion thereof. In one embodiment, the data related to the biodegradation data comprises one or more digital representations pointing to the biodegradation data or a portion thereof. In this context, pointing refers to any network representation or address suitable for accessing the biodegradation data or a portion thereof. Thus, the digital representation can be considered as accessing the data, and the chemical product passport can represent a digital data structure allowing a third party to access the biodegradation data or a portion thereof. The data related to the biodegradation data can comprise a plurality of digital representations pointing to different portions of the biodegradation data. The data related to the biodegradation data can comprise a plurality of digital representations pointing to different portions of the biodegradation data. Such different portions can overlap in some data points. The digital representation can comprise a point of access to the biodegradation data or a portion thereof, a link to access the biodegradation data or a portion thereof, an endpoint to access the biodegradation data or a portion thereof, or a service endpoint to access the biodegradation data or a portion thereof. In this way, the biodegradation data or a portion thereof can be maintained and controlled by the data owner. Access can be provided via the representation of the point of access, simplifying data verification, integrity check or quality check, and access control, as there is no need to check and access control a plurality of distributed data points. The biodegradation data or a portion thereof can be stored in a database of or associated with the data owner. The biodegradation data or a portion thereof can be stored in a database accessible to the data owner. The digital representation pointing to the biodegradation data or a portion thereof can be associated or related to any such database associated with or accessible to the data owner. For enhanced security, the digital representation pointing to the biodegradation data or a portion thereof can be indirectly associated to any such database associated with or accessible to the data owner.

[0198] The digital representation can be used in combination with a decentralized identifier to access the biodegradation data or a portion thereof. For example, a data consumption service can use a decentralized identifier and a corresponding digital representation to request the biodegradation data or a portion thereof. The data related to the biodegradation data can correspond to a DID document associated with or comprising a decentralized identifier (e.g. DID), a digital representation pointing to the biodegradation data or a portion thereof, and a public key. The DID document or a portion thereof can be propagated to a distributed ledger. The DID document or a portion thereof can be used to retrieve the digital representation using the DID, as described later.

[0199] In an embodiment, biodegradation data or portions thereof can include a producer of a chemical product, a chemical product identifier, data about chemical materials used to produce the chemical product, emissions data for the chemical product, production data, or a combination thereof. Data related to the nature of the chemical product and production data can include the previously mentioned data. Biodegradation data can be updated with data associated with subsequent production steps of the chemical product as previously described. Biodegradation data associated with subsequent production of the chemical product can be added to existing biodegradation data, for example, using a decentralized identifier.

[0200] In an embodiment, biodegradation data can include one or more categories of biodegradation data. At least one category of biodegradation data can be associated with or include data required by regulations or regulatory data for chemical materials, such as labeling information associated with regulatory approval of chemical materials used to produce the chemical product and / or chemical product data. At least one category of biodegradation data can be associated with data related to a habitat for biodegradation of the chemical product, in particular an intended habitat. At least one category of biodegradation data can be associated with data associated with biodegradability testing. At least one category of biodegradation data can be associated with handling instructions. At least one category of biodegradation data can be associated with formulation data.

[0201] Emissions data and / or production data can be associated with more than one feedstock or chemical product, such as those used to manufacture the chemical product.

[0202] Access to biodegradation data can be controlled based on categories. At least one category of biodegradation data can be related to or can include biodegradation data with restricted access that is related to a physical entity of the chemical product. For example, emissions data, production data, composition of chemical materials used to produce the chemical product, or a combination thereof can be restricted access. Such access restrictions can be provided by an authorization mechanism. For example, an authorization mechanism can include rules that specify which data consumption services have access under which conditions. At least one category of biodegradation data can include biodegradation data associated with a physical entity of the chemical product that is not restricted access. For example, such as labeling information associated with regulatory approval of chemical materials used to produce the chemical product and / or chemical product data can not be restricted access or not restricted access. Such access can be provided by an authorization mechanism. For example, an authorization mechanism can include rules that specify that certain regulatory data of the chemical product is accessible. Categories of biodegradation data can include one or more of formulation data, habitat data, handling data, intended habitat data, unintended habitat data, operational data, and testing data.

[0203] In one embodiment, the chemical product passport further comprises a decentralized identifier associated with the chemical materials used to produce the chemical product and / or a decentralized identifier associated with the production of the chemical product (herein referred to as a second decentralized identifier). The second decentralized identifier can be included along with the decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product and the decentralized identifier of the chemical materials used to produce the chemical product and / or the decentralized identifier associated with the production of the chemical product and the relationship between them. The second decentralized identifier can be used to generate a concatenation of the decentralized identifier of the chemical product passport (herein referred to as a first decentralized identifier) from a relationship representation according to which the first digital identifier is associated with the second identifier. The relationship representation can be associated with the relationship between the chemical product and each of the chemical materials used for its production. The relationship representation can specify that the chemical materials can be used to produce the chemical product and / or that the chemical product can be produced by using the chemical materials. One or more hash values can be generated based on the relationship representation. The hash values can be generated based on the concatenation of the decentralized identifiers. The hash values can be generated for the concatenation of the decentralized identifiers. The hash values can represent the concatenation of the decentralized identifiers. The hash values can be generated based on the data associated with the first decentralized identifier and the second decentralized identifier. The hash values can be generated based on the combined data set associated with the first decentralized identifier and the second decentralized identifier. By concatenating the decentralized identifiers associated with the chemical materials used to produce the chemical product, the chemical product, the chemical materials involved in the production of the chemical product can be tracked and traced virtually. This allows linking the decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product to the decentralized identifier associated with the chemical materials used to produce the chemical product. Thus, the relationship of biodegradability between the chemical product and the chemical materials used to produce the chemical product can be reflected within the chemical product passport and / or the digital access element.

[0204] The request to provide the decentralized identifier can comprise the second identifier. The request to provide the decentralized identifier can comprise the biodegradation data or a portion thereof. Based on the biodegradation data or the portion thereof, the data associated with the chemical materials producing the chemical product and / or the data associated with the production of the chemical product can be determined and can be used to retrieve the respective second decentralized identifier.

[0205] A decentralized identifier associated with a chemical material used in the production of a chemical product can be associated with chemical material data indicating whether the chemical material is a virgin material or a recycled material, indicating an environmental impact, and / or indicating a source of the chemical material. The decentralized identifier associated with the chemical material can be determined based on a physical identifier attached to packaging of the chemical material. The chemical material can be a feedstock, including a virgin or recycled material. The feedstock can include monomers and chain extenders used to make polymers, in particular biodegradable polymers such as described above. The chemical material can be an intermediate product manufactured from the feedstock and / or other intermediate products. The intermediate chemical products can include polymer antioxidants and accelerators.

[0206] The chemical material can be produced from the feedstock and / or the intermediate product. The chemical material can be used, directly or indirectly, in the manufacture of the chemical material. That is, some of the chemical material can be used in the manufacture of one or more intermediate products, based on which, in turn, the chemical product is manufactured.

[0207] The chemical product of one process can be a feedstock or input material or chemical material for a further production process. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0208] Hereinafter, the present disclosure is further described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the drawings and in the present disclosure are intended to refer to the same or similar elements, components and / or parts.

[0209] Figure 1 Material and data flows in a production network are schematically illustrated.

[0210] Fig. 2 schematically illustrates a chemical product according to the present disclosure.

[0211] Figure 3 Examples of a chemical product ecosystem are illustrated.

[0212] Figure 4 Examples of chemical product production controlled by an operating system comprising a device for generating a chemical product passport are illustrated.

[0213] Figure 5 Examples of a production system providing a chemical product associated with a chemical product passport are illustrated.

[0214] Figures 6A-6B Examples of a method or device for providing data associated with the production of a chemical product, the use of the chemical product, and the disposal of the chemical product at the end of its life via a decentralized network are schematically illustrated.

[0215] Figure 7 An example method for generating a chemical product passport is shown.

[0216] Figure 8An example system and associated method for generating a chemical product passport associated with a produced chemical product and providing access to the generated chemical product passport is illustrated.

[0217] Figure 9 An example method for further processing biodegradation data associated with a chemical product passport using the chemical product passport is shown.

[0218] Figure 10A 、 10B An example of an authentication protocol is shown.

[0219] Figure 11 An example method for authorizing access to biodegradation data is shown.

[0220] Figure 12 A schematic diagram showing providing access to a chemical product passport associated with a chemical product via a data providing service associated with a data owner using a data consumption service associated with a data user is shown.

[0221] Figure 13 An example of ID-based owner data, ID-based chemical product passport data, and a decentralized identity infrastructure is shown.

[0222] Figure 14 An example of a chemical product passport including certificate-based data, ID-based chemical product passport data, and a decentralized identity infrastructure is shown.

[0223] Figures 15A-17B Different example configurations of a chemical product passport anchored by a decentralized identifier are shown.

[0224] Figure 18A 、 18B An example that can be used to generate a cascading representation of relationships is illustrated.

[0225] Figure 19A 、 Figure 19B Biodegradation of a chemical product under various conditions is schematically illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0226] The following embodiments are merely examples for implementing the methods, apparatuses, systems, and chemical product passports disclosed herein and should not be considered limiting.

[0227] Figure 1 An example embodiment of a material chain network 100 including material participants 101.1-6 connected by a decentralized network 102, where decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 are associated with the material participants 101.1-6, is illustrated.

[0228] The material chain network may include one or more linear material chains. A linear material chain may include a material supply chain where materials are produced by material producer 101.1 and used to produce end products by original equipment manufacturer 101.3 (OEM). A linear material chain may include a material disposal chain where the produced end products are collected, sorted, and biodegraded until they reach waste management system operator 101.6. The biodegraded chemical materials are used to produce soil, for example, for sale in agricultural applications. A material chain may include one or more supply and / or disposal chains. A material chain may include one or more connected supply and / or disposal chains. One or more linear material chains may be connected to material chain network 100.

[0229] A materials chain network can include the production, use, and / or recycling of physical materials and products. Products can be materials, chemical products, intermediate chemical products, components, component assemblies, end-of-life products, products awaiting biodegradation, and biodegradable end products.

[0230] Materials or chemical products may include compounds, chemical components, chemical molecules, chemical compositions, chemical mixtures, chemical agents, intermediate chemical products, or basic chemical materials that can be used to produce decentralized products. Chemical material or product streams may include non-discrete material streams that can be further processed to produce discrete products or components. Chemical material or product streams may include liquids, granules, steel pellets, powders, etc. Discrete products may refer to components, component assemblies, end-of-life products, products awaiting recycling, or recycled discrete products. Recyclables may refer to materials that have been mechanically or chemically recovered. Recyclables or recycled material streams may include non-discrete material streams that can be further processed to produce new materials or chemical products. Recyclables or recycled material streams may include liquids, granules, steel pellets, powders, etc.

[0231] A final product can refer to a product that is a result of the materials supply chain. A final product can refer to a product used by the end-user. An end-of-life (EOL) product can refer to a product that has been used by the end-user. An end-of-life product can refer to a product that no longer meets its usage requirements. An end-of-life product can refer to a product that is no longer needed. An end-of-life product can be a product disposed of in waste (such as plastic waste). A recycled product can refer to any product manufactured from end-of-life products. A recycled product can refer to a new product manufactured from end-of-life products.

[0232] Figure 1The illustrated material chain network 100 can include a plurality of participants 101.1-6 that form the material chain network 100. The material chain network 100 can include all stages of a material from production of the material, through use of the material, to reuse of the material. Thus, materials can flow in a closed loop from production of a constituent, through use of a final product, to reuse. Reuse can include repurposing of end-of-life products, redevelopment of end-of-life products, and / or recycling of end-of-life products to refeed the recyclate into material production.

[0233] Participants 101.1-6 of the material chain network can be associated with production of any material or product and / or recycling of any material or product. Participants of the material chain network 100 can include a chemical product producer 101.1, a chemical product user 101.2, an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) 101.3, a final product user 101.4, an EOL product collector and / or sorter 101.5, a waste management system operator 101.6, and combinations thereof. Participants can include Figure 1 Various participants of a material chain not shown in FIG. 1.

[0234] Participants 101.1-6 of the material chain network 100 can be connected by material flows 104. Material flows 104 can correspond to a flow of a product or material from one participant 101.1-6 of the material chain network to a downstream participant 101.1-6 of the material chain network 100. Material flows 104 can refer to continuous or discontinuous flows of a product or material. The flow of a product or material can include any means of transportation suitable for transporting a product from one participant 101.1-6 to another downstream participant 101.1-6. Means of transportation can include pipes, containers, barrels, packaging, and the like. Material flows 104 can be one-sided flows, such as directed material flows 104. Material flows 104 can flow from an upstream participant 101.1-6 to a downstream participant 101.1-6 of the material chain network 100, such as a material flow 104 from a waste management system operator 101.6 to a chemical product producer 101.1. Material flows can include reverse material flows 104 from a downstream participant 101.1-6 to an upstream participant 101.1-6 of the material chain network 100. For example, material can flow 104 from a chemical product user 101.2 to a chemical product producer 101.1, such as when the chemical product does not meet biodegradation specifications and needs further processing.

[0235] Input material flows 106 can be associated with raw materials, such as virgin raw materials, used to produce a material or chemical product. Virgin raw materials can be raw materials that have not been subjected to any processing other than their production. Material flows 106 can also include recycled materials. Recycled materials can be made from recyclable waste. Virgin and recycled materials can be provided to a chemical product producer for production of a material, a chemical product, and / or an intermediate chemical product (not shown).

[0236] Figure 1 The material chain network 100 shown in FIG. 1 is based on an example of biodegradable plastic materials. Plastic materials can include synthetic materials made from various organic polymers, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl carbon, polyamide, polyurethane, etc. Material actors can include monomer and / or polymer producers 101.1, monomer and / or polymer users 101.2 (such as compounders, molders, and / or converters), original equipment manufacturers 101.3 (such as polymer-containing product producers), polymer-containing product users 101.4 (such as retailers or consumers), waste collectors and / or sorters 101.5, waste management system operators 101.6.

[0237] Monomers and / or polymers can be produced by chemical producers. Monomers and / or polymers can be provided to polymer users, such as compounders, molders, and / or converters. Monomers and / or polymers can be compounded, molded, and / or converted. Compounded, molded, and / or converted polymers can be provided to polymer-containing product producers (original equipment manufacturers - OEMs). Polymer-containing products or articles can be produced using compounded, molded, and / or converted polymers. Polymer-containing products or articles can be provided to polymer-containing product users. Polymer-containing products or articles can be used by users. At end of life, polymer-containing products or articles can be disposed of by users. Disposed polymer-containing products or articles can be provided to plastic waste collectors and / or sorters. Disposed polymer-containing products or articles can be collected in a plastic waste stream. The plastic waste stream can be sorted. The plastic waste stream can be provided to a sorter for sorting a fraction of polymer-containing products or articles to be recycled or biodegraded. The sorted fraction of polymer-containing products or articles can be provided to a recycler for recycling the fraction of polymer-containing products. The recycled fraction can be provided to a chemical producer to produce new monomers and / or polymers, thereby closing the material chain network 100.

[0238] In addition to connections through material flow 104, material participants 101.1-6 of circular material chain network 100 can be connected via data flow 105 through decentralized network 102. Decentralized network 102 can include one or more decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 associated with material participants 101.1-6 of material chain network 100. In a decentralized or decentered network 102, decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 do not exclusively rely on a central network node in comparison to a centralized network. In other words, there is no single entity that is the sole authority of the network. Decentralized network 102 can include both decentralized and central network nodes. Decentralized network 102 can include a central network node that can control and / or monitor decentralized network nodes 103.1-6. For example, the central network node can provide authentication information that allows at least two decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 to establish a peer-to-peer communication channel between the respective decentralized network nodes 103.1-6.

[0239] Network nodes 103.1-6 can be computing nodes. Decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 can be configured to perform peer-to-peer data transactions as indicated by the arrows 105 of the data flow.

[0240] Decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 can be configured as data consuming and / or providing network nodes. Decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 can be configured to provide data to and / or consume data from other network nodes of decentralized network 102. For example, decentralized network nodes 103.1, 3 associated with monomer and / or polymer producer 101.1 or polymer-containing product producer 101.3 can be configured to provide chemical product data associated with properties of polymers to downstream participants such as plastic waste collector or sorter 101.5 or recycling operator 101.6. Further, for example, decentralized network nodes 103.5, 6 associated with plastic waste collector or sorter 101.5 or waste management system operator 101.6 can be configured to access data from network nodes 103.1-5 associated with upstream participants such as monomer and / or polymer producer 101.1 or polymer-containing product producer 101.3. In particular, the waste management system operator can be configured to access biodegradation data.

[0241] Decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 can include computer executable instructions configured to provide, consume, and / or process data, such as chemical product data associated with monomers, polymers, polymer-containing products, or articles of manufacture produced or processed within the material chain network 100. Network nodes can run a data providing service configured to provide data to another decentralized network node 103.1-6 of the decentralized network 102. A decentralized network node 103.1-6 configured to provide data can be associated with a data owner or data generating node associated with a material or product produced or processed within the material chain network 100. Decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 can be connected to one or more dedicated data storage devices storing data associated with materials or products produced or processed in the material chain network 100 (see, e.g., Figure 4 ). Figure 4 ). The dedicated data storage devices can be under control of a data owner or data generating node associated with a material or product produced or processed in the material chain network 100. The data owner can be the respective participant 101.1-6 of the material chain network 100 with which the data generating node 103.1-6 is associated. The data generating node 103.1-6 can have access to the dedicated data storage devices. Thus, access to data associated with materials or products produced or processed within the material chain network 100 can be under control of the data owner with which the respective decentralized network node 103.1-6 is associated. This allows to maintain full control over data associated with materials or products produced or processed within the material chain network 100 by the data owner. At the same time, this enables sharing of data associated with materials or products produced or processed within the material chain network 100 under controlled conditions, e.g. by establishing peer-to-peer communication using appropriate protocols including authorization and authentication mechanisms or schemes.

[0242] Decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 configured to consume data can include computer executable instructions for accessing and / or processing data within the decentralized network 102, such as data associated with materials produced or processed within the material chain network 100 and provided by a decentralized data providing network node 103.1-6. Decentralized data consuming network nodes 103.1-6 can be controlled or owned by or associated with any upstream or downstream participant of the material chain network 100. For example, a decentralized data consuming network node 103.4 can be associated with a polymer-containing product user 101.4 to allow access to monomer and / or polymer data associated with monomers and / or polymers supplied by a monomer and / or polymer producer 101.1 by a decentralized data providing network node 103.1 associated with the monomer and / or polymer producer 101.1.

[0243] The decentralized network 102 can include additional decentralized network nodes 103.1-6. The additional decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 can not be associated with additional participants of the material chain network 100. The additional nodes can be decentralized infrastructure service nodes (not shown in Figure 1 The decentralized infrastructure service nodes can provide services for the decentralized participant nodes 103.1-6, such as verifying the identity of the decentralized network participant nodes 103.1-6 prior to performing data exchanges. The decentralized network participant nodes 103.1-6 can be associated with or include a certificate, such as an X.509 certificate. The certificate can be associated with an identity manager that includes, for example, a certificate issuing service and / or a dynamic provisioning service that provides dynamic attribute tokens (e.g., OAuth access tokens). As such, the decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 can be associated or connected to a unique identifier embedded in the X.509 certificate that identifies the respective decentralized network node 103.1-6. Information required to verify the certificate can be provided via an authentication registry associated with the certificate issuing service and / or the dynamic provisioning service. For example, in the IDSA Reference Architecture Model Version 3.0 of April 2019, the identity is verified prior to performing data exchanges (not shown) using a decentralized data providing network node associated with a data owner, a certification authority (CA), a dynamic attribute provisioning service (DAPS), and a decentralized data consuming network node associated with a data consumer.

[0244] The materials or products produced by the participants 101.1-6 of the material chain network 100 can be associated with material or product data associated with properties of the materials or products produced by the participants 101.1-6 of the material chain network 100. The material or product data can be provided for access by the decentralized data providing network nodes 103.1-6 associated with the material or product producers. Access to the material or product data can be controlled by the decentralized data providing network nodes 103.1-6. The material or product data can be accessed by the decentralized data consuming network nodes 103.1-6 associated with additional participants 101.1-6 of the material chain network 100, such as any downstream participants 101.1-6.

[0245] Data flows 105 between decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 can be directly or indirectly associated with material flows 104, 106 between participants 101.1-6 of the material chain network 100. For example, if data associated with a chemical product provided from a chemical product producer 101.1 to a chemical product user 101.2 is accessed by a decentralized data consuming network node 103.1-6 associated with the chemical product user 101.2, the data flow 105 can be directly associated with the material flow 104. For example, if data associated with a chemical product produced by a chemical product producer 101.1 is accessed by a decentralized data consuming network node 103.1-6 associated with a waste management system operator 101.6, the data flow 105 can be indirectly associated with the material flow 104, 106.

[0246] Data transactions between decentralized network nodes 103.1-6 can be based on a decentralized identifier associated with material or product data to be accessed. The decentralized identifier can be associated with a physical entity of a material or product. The decentralized identifier can be uniquely associated with a physical entity of a material or product. The decentralized identifier can uniquely identify a material or product within the decentralized network 102. The decentralized identifier can be associated with a further decentralized identifier, such as a decentralized identifier for a material or product used to produce an end product. This can allow tracking of materials or products used to produce a product, such as an end product. As described in more detail in the context of Figure 4 The decentralized identifier can be included in a material passport associated with a material or product, as described in more detail in the context of

[0247] Figure 2A 、 Figure 2B An example of a biodegradable chemical product 202 is schematically illustrated. In this example, the biodegradable chemical product can be a container comprising a biodegradable laminated film. The container 202 is used as an example only and should not be considered limiting. The same principles, methods, and device embodiments apply to other biodegradable chemical products. The biodegradable chemical product can be produced by a producer in a biodegradable material production chain as described with reference to Figure 1 The polymer-containing product producer can comprise an operating system as disclosed with reference to Figure 4 The polymer-containing product producer can comprise an operating system as disclosed with reference to

[0248] Figure 2B An example structure of a biodegradable chemical product 202 is illustrated. The biodegradable chemical product can comprise a biodegradable laminated film 209.

[0249] The biodegradable chemical product 102 can comprise a biodegradable substrate 209A. The biodegradable substrate 209A can comprise a paper product. The paper product can comprise paper and paperboard.

[0250] Suitable fibres for producing the mentioned paper products are all commonly used types, such as mechanical pulp, bleached and unbleached cellulose, pulp from all annual plants and waste paper (also in the form of coated or uncoated waste paper). The aforementioned fibres can be used alone or in any mixture thereof to form the pulp from which the paper products are made. The term mechanical pulp includes, for example, groundwood pulp, thermomechanical pulp (TMP), chemi-thermomechanical pulp (CTMP), pressure groundwood pulp, semi-chemical pulp, high yield chemical pulp and refined mechanical pulp (RMP). For example, sulphate pulp, sulphite pulp and soda pulp are suitable chemical pulps. Examples of suitable annual plants for producing pulp are rice, wheat, sugar cane and kenaf.

[0251] The biodegradable laminated film 109 can further comprise a biodegradable adhesive layer 209B. The biodegradable adhesive layer can comprise a biodegradable polyurethane adhesive or a biodegradable acrylate adhesive. The adhesive layer is adapted to bond the biodegradable polymer foil 209C to the biodegradable substrate 209A.

[0252] The biodegradable polymer foil 109C can comprise an aliphatic polyester and / or an aliphatic-aromatic polyester.

[0253] In this embodiment, the biodegradable chemical product comprises an optional biodegradable oxygen and aroma barrier 209D. The oxygen and aroma barrier can comprise polyglycolic acid (PGA), ethylene-vinyl alcohol (EVOH) or polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH).

[0254] The biodegradable chemical product 202 can be produced by folding a sheet of the biodegradable laminated film.

[0255] The produced biodegradable product 202 can be marked with an identifier element 203.

[0256] The biodegradable chemical product can be a bottle 404.

[0257] The identifier element 203 can comprise a machine-readable code for storing a physical material identifier of the biodegradable chemical product 202. For example, the identifier element 203 can comprise a printed one- or two-dimensional code, such as a bar code or a QR code or other code. The identifier element 203 can comprise a black-and-white square array storing at least a physical material identifier of one or more thermal insulation or packaging material 202. Further, for example, the identifier element 203 can comprise an electronic tag, such as an RFID tag, for storing a physical material identifier of the biodegradable chemical product 202. The physical material identifier and any information attached to such identifier can be accessed by a code reader, such as a mobile phone or other device having a camera for scanning a QR code or an RFID reader for reading out an RFID tag.

[0258] The biodegradable chemical products 202 can include: paper bags for dry food, such as coffee, tea, soup powder, sauce powder; for liquids, such as cosmetics, detergents, beverages; tube lamination; paper handbags for ice cream, candy (e.g., chocolate bars and granola bars), paper laminates, and co-extruded materials, and paper adhesive tape; paper cups, yogurt cups; instant meal trays; wrapped paperboard (cans, tubs), wet-strength paperboard for overwraps (wine bottles, food); - coated paperboard fruit boxes; fast food trays; stand enclosures; beverage cartons and cartons for liquids such as detergents and cleaners, cartons for frozen products, ice cream packaging (e.g., sundae cup wrap materials, such as for a cone ice cream cup); paper labels; flower pots and plant pots.

[0259] These products are for end consumers. It is desirable to biodegrade the biodegradable chemical products and avoid incineration or landfilling.

[0260] Figure 3 An example of a chemical product ecosystem is illustrated. The chemical product 404 can be a biodegradable chemical product, in this example a bottle 404, as described with reference to FIG. 2. Step 301 in the chemical product ecosystem can include production of the biodegradable chemical material, in particular in the production of chemical material 303. The chemical material can be produced in one or more production steps. The chemical product production can be connected to an operations system (see, e.g., Figure 4 ). The operations system can control the production of the chemical product.

[0261] The chemical material can be produced from one or more input materials 302. The input materials 302 can include, for example, chemical feedstocks or intermediate chemical products. The chemical feedstocks can include monomers and chain extenders, initiators for the production of biodegradable polymers, in particular biodegradable polymers as described above. The intermediate chemical products can include polymer antioxidants, accelerators, and antioxidants. The chemical material 302 can be sourced from one or more chemical material suppliers, for example as described in the context of Figure 6A .

[0262] Further steps along the value chain are depicted in Figure 3 . The chemical material produced in step 301 can be used as an input material for a production step 307 of an intermediate material. The intermediate material can then be used as an input material for the production of a final product, which produces the chemical product 404. The intermediate chemical material can be sourced from one or more chemical material suppliers, for example as described in the context of Figure 6A .

[0263] The produced chemical product can be supplied from the chemical product production 304 to a retailer. The produced chemical product can be supplied from the chemical production 304 to a refiner, which can further process the chemical product. This can alter the biodegradation data.

[0264] The use phase 308 can include using the chemical product, in this example a bottle. The use can include filling the bottle with a liquid.

[0265] The chemical product value chain can also include a collection of used and end-of-life chemical products 310. The used and end-of-life chemical products can be collected at a waste collector return point. The used and end-of-life chemical products can be provided to the return point by an end consumer. The used and end-of-life chemical products can be provided to the return point by a retailer (not shown). The used and end-of-life chemical products can be collected from the end consumer and / or the retailer and stored at the return point. The return point can be an initial collection center. The initial collection center can provide the collected used and end-of-life chemical products to a central return point. The return point can be a central return point.

[0266] The collected chemical products can be inspected and further processing can be determined. The further processing can depend on the condition of the chemical product, chemical product properties such as type, age, size, and / or presence of hazardous chemicals. In particular, the further processing can depend on the biodegradation data of the chemical product. The collected chemical products can be introduced into a recycling stream (not shown).

[0267] The collected chemical products can be provided to an incineration facility or disposed at a landfill.

[0268] In an example, the chemical products can be sorted according to an expected biodegradation habitat and provided to a corresponding waste management facility. In this example, the expected habitat of the bottle can be compost. Accordingly, the bottle can be provided to a waste management facility for composting.

[0269] In advantageous embodiments, instead of incineration and / or disposal at a landfill, the chemical product value chain can also include waste management 312 of used chemical products for biodegradation. The biodegradation conditions can be based on the biodegradation data of the chemical product provided by the chemical product passport. In this case, the biodegradation data can include data associated with processing instructions, which can include at least one of a required temperature, a required temperature range, a required microbial community, and a required retention time.

[0270] Figure 4An example of chemical product production 304 of one or more chemical products 404 from one or more in-plant materials 302 is illustrated in conjunction with an operating system 402 of an apparatus that includes a chemical product passport for generating a chemical product. The operating system 402 can be used to operate the chemical product production 304, for example, by managing different production chains present in the chemical product production. The chemical product production 304 can produce a chemical product from one or more chemical materials, for example, by reacting one or more of the chemical materials and / or by physically processing one or more of the chemical materials. The chemical materials can include raw materials as mentioned in the context of Figure 3 The chemical materials can include intermediate products as mentioned in the context of Figure 3 The chemical materials can be supplied to the chemical product production 304 from one or more suppliers, such as a chemical company that produces the chemical materials, for example, as described in the context of Figure 6A

[0271] To produce one or more chemical products 404, different materials 302 (hereinafter also referred to as in-plant materials 302) can be provided as physical inputs from material providers or suppliers. The physical inputs to the chemical product production 304 can include chemical materials, such as chemical raw materials, intermediate products, or a combination thereof. The raw materials can be virgin or recycled raw materials as described in the context of Figure 3

[0272] The chemical product production 304 can transform the in-plant materials 302 into one or more chemical products 404 that exit the chemical product production 304 through chemical and / or physical transformations. The transformation can be performed via intermediate products or assemblies. The transformation can be a chemical reaction or any other processing step. The in-plant materials 302 can be fed to the chemical product production 304 at any entry point. The in-plant materials 302 can be fed to the chemical product production 304 at the beginning of the chemical product production 304. The in-plant materials can be considered as inputs to the chemical product production 304.

[0273] The chemical product production 304 can include multiple production steps. The production steps included in the chemical product production 304 can be defined by a system boundary of the chemical product production 304. The system boundary can be defined by a location or control of a production process. The system boundary can be defined by a site of the chemical product production 304. The system boundary can be defined by a production process that is controlled by one entity or multiple entities collectively. The system boundary can be defined by a value chain of a production process with an interlaced final product, which can be controlled by multiple entities separately.

[0274] ​​The operations system 402 of the chemical product production 304 can monitor and / or control the chemical product production 304 based on operational parameters associated with different processes performed by the chemical product production 304. One process step that is monitored and / or controlled can be the feeding of the incoming materials or the release of the produced chemical product. Another process step that is monitored and / or controlled can be the generation of a chemical product passport associated with the chemical product produced by the chemical product production 304, e.g., using a device for generating a chemical product passport, such as the device in the context of Figure 8 The operations system 402 can include such a device for generating a chemical product passport. The operations system 402 can be configured to generate a chemical product passport associated with a chemical product produced by the chemical product production 304, e.g., as described in the context of Figure 7 and Figure 8 The operations system 402 can be communicatively coupled to such a device for generating a chemical product passport, e.g., the operations system 402 and the device for generating a chemical product passport can be separate units.

[0275] The operations system 402 can further include a requester. The operations system can be communicatively coupled to such a requester. The requester can be configured to generate a request for generating a chemical product passport, e.g., as described in the context of Figure 8

[0276] The operations system 402 can further include an ID allocator. The operations system can be communicatively coupled to such an ID allocator. The ID allocator can be configured to allocate a decentralized identifier and associated information included in a chemical product passport to a physical identifier of a produced chemical product, e.g., as described in the context of Figure 5 and Figure 8 For example, the ID allocator can generate a physical identifier that has a decentralized identifier embedded and can provide the physical identifier to a marking device that attaches the physical identifier to the produced chemical product.

[0277] The ID allocator, the requester, and / or the device for generating a chemical product passport can be configured as a decentralized service or application executed via a decentralized network.

[0278] While the processes described in Figure 4 to generate a request for generating a chemical product passport associated with a chemical product 404, the generation of a respective product passport can also be requested in each step of the process chain described with reference to Figure 3

[0279] Figure 5 ​​Examples are illustrated for providing a chemical product associated with a chemical product passport. The chemical product can be produced by a chemical product production 304 including an operating system 402, for example as described in the context of Figure 4

[0280] To produce a chemical product, intermediate products and / or raw materials can be provided as physical inputs. The intermediate products can include precursor materials. The precursor materials and raw materials can include virgin or recycled materials. The raw materials can be associated with a decentralized identifier. The decentralized identifier can be associated with a raw material passport for the raw material, which can be generated as described below in the context of Figure 7 Figure 8

[0281] ​​​The decentralized identifier can be associated with feedstock biodegradation data, which can include data associated with at least one property of a nature of a feedstock used to produce a chemical product or with a use of a chemical material used to produce a chemical product, an identifier of the chemical product, such as a name of the chemical product, including data associated with a test method, in particular a standardized test method. The data associated with the test method can be associated with one or more elements of a group of test methods including: DIN EN ISO 17556; December 2012, OECD 301; July 1992, ASTM D 5338, Standard Test Method for Determining Aerobic Biodegradation of Plastics Materials Under Controlled Composting Conditions, September 1998, ASTM D 6002, Standard Guide for Assessing the Compostability of Environmentally Degradable Plastics, October 1996, ASTM D 6400, Standard Specification for Compostable Plastic, May 1999, DIN EN ISO 13432, Anforderung an die Verwertung von Verpackungen durch Kompostierung und biologischen Abbau - Prüfschema und Bewertungskriterien für die Einstufung von Verpackungen, December 2000, DIN EN ISO 11734, Wasserbeschaffenheit - Bestimmung der vollständigen anaeroben biologischen Abbaubarkeit organischer Verbindungen im Faulschlamm - Verfahren durch Messung der Biogasproduktion, November 1998, DIN V 54900-1 Prüfung der Kompostierbarkeit von Kunststoffen - Teil 1: Chemische Prüfung, October 1998,DINV 54900-2, Prufung der Kompostierbarkeit von Kunststoffen - Teil 2: Prufung auf vollstandige Abbaubarkeit von Kunststoffen in Laborversuchen, September 1998, DIN V 54900-3, Prufung der Kompostierbarkeit von Kunststoffen - Teil 3: Prufung unter praxisrelevanten Bedingungen und der Qualitat der Komposte, September 1998, E, DIN 54900-4, Prufung der Kompostierbarkeit von polymeren Werkstoffen - Teil 4: Prufung der Okotoxizitat der Komposte, January 1997, ISO 14851, Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability of plastic materials in an aqueous medium - Method by measuring the oxygen demand in a closed respirometer, May 1999, DIN EN ISO 14852, Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability of plastics materials in an aqueous medium - Method by analysis of evolved carbon dioxide, May 1999, DIN EN ISO 14855, Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability and disintegration of plastic materials under controlled composting conditions - Method by analysis of evolved carbon dioxide, May 1999, ISO / DIS 14853,Plastics - Determination of the ultimate anaerobic biodegradability in an aqueous system - Method by measurement of biogas production, April 1999, and ISO / DIS 15985, Plastics - Determination of the ultimate anaerobic biodegradability and disintegration under high-solids anaerobic-digestion conditions - Method by analysis of released biogas, April 1999.

[0282] Feedstock biodegradation data can include data associated with biodegradation habitat. Biodegradation data associated with biodegradation properties of a feedstock can include data associated with quantification of biodegradation extent of a chemical product. Biodegradation data associated with biodegradation properties of a feedstock can include microplastic data associated with amount of microplastics introduced into a habitat by biodegradation. Biodegradation data associated with biodegradation properties of a feedstock can include data associated with decomposition products. Data associated with decomposition products can include toxicity data associated with toxicity of decomposition products.

[0283] Biodegradation data can include a list of compatible chemical products for further processing. Biodegradation data can include formulation data associated with a formulation, can include instructions for producing a biodegradable chemical product from a feedstock comprising a chemical material. Feedstock biodegradation data can further include, for example, feedstock name, feedstock composition, chemical and / or physical properties of a feedstock, emissions data of a feedstock, recyclate content data of a feedstock, biobased content data of a feedstock, renewable content data of a feedstock, feedstock production data, feedstock declaration data, feedstock safety data, certificate of analysis data associated with a feedstock, certificate associated with a feedstock.

[0284] Production of a chemical product can include a two-step process: 1) production of an intermediate product, and 2) production of the chemical product from the intermediate product and optionally other feedstocks (not shown). To produce the intermediate product, feedstocks can be used as physical inputs. An operating system, such as an operating system for production of the intermediate product, can access data related to the feedstocks, e.g., from a feedstock provider, based on a decentralized identifier. Such data can be used to operate the production of the intermediate product. The intermediate product can be formed by causing the feedstocks to undergo a chemical reaction or by physically processing the feedstocks. Chemical reactions can include polymerization, precipitation, and other well-known chemical reactions. Physical processing can include mixing, grinding, extruding, etc. An intermediate product passport can be generated for the produced intermediate product, as described below in the context of Figure 7 and Figure 8 The intermediate product data can include data from the production of the intermediate product and additional data previously described with respect to biodegradation data, and can also include data such as data about physical properties of the intermediate product, certificates of analysis data, material safety data, product declaration data, emissions data, etc. The produced intermediate product can be packaged, and the packaging can include a physical identifier, such as a QR code, an embossed code, or an optical holographic code, such as a zero-order diffraction microstructure. In the context of FIGS. 6 and Figure 7 The physical identifier can be assigned to the decentralized identifier of the intermediate product passport.

[0285] In a second step, the intermediate product can be provided to chemical product production to produce a chemical product, e.g., as described in the context of Figure 4 In addition to the intermediate product, additional feedstocks (not shown) can be provided to the chemical product production. Production data from the production of the intermediate product by the intermediate product can be used by an operating system of the chemical product production, such as the operating system 402 described in the context of Figure 4 The intermediate product can include recycled materials or materials produced by a different entity. Such intermediate products can be associated with a decentralized identifier via which intermediate product data can be accessed. An ID reader can be used to read a physical identifier associated with the decentralized identifier, as described above in the context of Figure 4 The decentralized identifier can be used to retrieve the intermediate product data, e.g., as described in the context of Figure 12 The production steps including chemical reactions, such as polymerization, can change the biodegradation data so that they are different from the biodegradation data of the feedstocks.

[0286] As described in the context of Figure 7 and Figure 8In the context of the above described, a chemical product passport can be generated for a produced chemical product, the chemical product passport comprising a decentralized identifier and data related to biodegradation data. The decentralized identifier of the chemical product passport can be associated with the chemical product via a physical identifier. For example, the chemical product can comprise a physical identifier physically attached to the chemical product, such as a QR code, an embossed code, an optical holographic code. Such a physical identifier element can be assigned to the decentralized identifier. The assignment of the physical identifier element and the decentralized identifier can be performed by an ID assigner running locally in the decentralized system and / or distributed system (see for example Figure 4 ). For example, a packaging line can comprise a labeling device detecting the produced chemical product. Based on such identification, a requestor can generate a request for generating a chemical product passport, and the decentralized identifier comprised in the generated chemical product passport can be assigned to the physical identifier, e.g. by the ID assigner (see also below Figure 7 and Figure 8 ). The assignment can comprise encoding the decentralized identifier in the physical identifier, and providing the physical identifier, such as a code, to the labeling device configured to attach the physical identifier to the chemical product. The ID assigner can be part of the labeling device, or can be a separate device.

[0287] The generated chemical product passport can include a decentralized identifier and data related to biodegradation data. The generated chemical product passport can also include a chemical product identifier associated with a produced chemical product (e.g., an intermediate product and / or a final product). The data related to biodegradation data can include biodegradation data. The biodegradation data can be recorded before and / or during and / or after production and / or during use of the chemical product. The biodegradation data can include an identifier, such as a name of the chemical product, data associated with a property of a raw material used to produce the chemical product or at least one property related to a use of a chemical material used to produce the chemical product, an identifier of the produced chemical product, such as a name of the produced chemical product including data associated with a test method, in particular a standardized test method. The data associated with the test method can be associated with one or more elements of a group of test methods: DIN EN ISO 17556; December 2012, OECD 301; July 1992, ASTM D 5338, Standard Test Method for Determining Aerobic Biodegradation of Plastics Materials Under Controlled Composting Conditions, September 1998, ASTM D 6002, Standard Guide for Assessing the Compostability of Environmentally Degradable Plastics, October 1996, ASTM D 6400, Standard Specification for Compostable Plastic, May 1999, DIN EN ISO 13432, Anforderung an die Verwertung von Verpackungen durch Kompostierung und biologischen Abbau - Prüfschema und Bewertungskriterien für die Einstufung von Verpackungen, December 2000, DIN EN ISO 11734,Wasserbeschaffenheit - Bestimmung der vollständigen anaeroben biologischen Abbaubarkeit organischer Verbindungen im Faulschlamm - Verfahren durch Messung der Biogasproduktion, November 1998, DIN V 54900-1 Prufung der Kompostierbarkeit von Kunststoffen - Teil 1 : Chemische Prufung, October 1998, DIN V 54900-2, Prufung der Kompostierbarkeit von Kunststoffen - Teil 2: Prufung auf vollstandige Abbaubarkeit von Kunststoffen in Laborversuchen, September 1998, DIN V 54900-3, Prufung der Kompostierbarkeit von Kunststoffen - Teil 3: Prufung unter praxisrelevanten Bedingungen und der Qualitat der Komposte, September 1998, E, DIN 54900-4, Prufung der Kompostierbarkeit von polymeren Werkstoffen - Teil 4: Prufung der Okotoxizitat der Komposte, January 1997, ISO 14851, Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability of plastic materials in an aqueous medium - Method by measuring the oxygen demand in a closed respirometer, May 1999, DIN EN ISO 14852,Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability of plastics materials in an aqueous medium - Method by analysis of evolved carbon dioxide, May 1999, DIN EN ISO 14855, Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability and disintegration of plastic materials under controlled composting conditions - Method by analysis of evolved carbon dioxide, May 1999, ISO / DIS 14853, Plastics - Determination of the ultimate anaerobic biodegradability in an aqueous system - Method by measurement of biogas production, April 1999, and ISO / DIS 15985, Plastics - Determination of the ultimate anaerobic biodegradability and disintegration under high-solids anaerobic-digestion conditions - Method by analysis of released biogas, April 1999.

[0288] The feedstock biodegradation data can include data associated with a biodegradation habitat. The biodegradation data associated with the biodegradable properties of the produced product can include data associated with a quantification of the extent of biodegradation of the chemical product. The biodegradation data associated with the biodegradable properties of the produced chemical product can include microplastic data associated with the amount of microplastics introduced into a habitat by biodegradation. The biodegradation data associated with the biodegradable properties of the feedstock can include data associated with a decomposition product. The data associated with the decomposition product can include toxicity data associated with the toxicity of the decomposition product. The biodegradation data can include a list of compatible chemical products for further processing. The biodegradation data can include formulation data associated with a formulation, can include instructions for producing a biodegradable chemical product from a feedstock comprising a chemical material. The biodegradation data can include data related to production conditions provided by the operational system 402 of the chemical product production 304. The biodegradation data can include data related to a producer, such as a producer name, a producer brand, or a producer identifier. The biodegradation data can include a chemical product name, brand, or chemical product identifier.

[0289] The data related to the chemical product can include a digital representation pointing to the biodegradation data or portions thereof. The data related to the biodegradation data can include a plurality of digital representations pointing to different portions of the biodegradation data or portions thereof. The data related to the biodegradation data can include a plurality of digital representations pointing to different portions of the biodegradation data or portions thereof. Such different portions can overlap in some data points. The representation can include an access point to the biodegradation data or portions thereof, a link to access the biodegradation data or portions thereof, an endpoint to access the biodegradation data or portions thereof, or a service endpoint to access the biodegradation data or portions thereof.

[0290] The generated chemical product passport can include additional decentralized identifiers associated with chemical materials, such as intermediate products and feedstocks used to produce the chemical product. The additional decentralized identifiers, also referred to as second decentralized identifiers, can be included along with the relationship between the decentralized identifier of the chemical product passport and the second decentralized identifier. This allows linking the decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product to the decentralized identifier associated with the chemical materials used to produce the chemical product. Thus, the relationship between the chemical product and the chemical materials used to produce the chemical product can be reflected within the chemical product passport.

[0291] Figure 6A and Figure 6B Examples of methods or apparatuses for providing biodegradation data associated with the production of a chemical product and the use of the chemical product, as well as chemical product biodegradation data associated with the processing of end-of-life chemical products across the chemical product value chain via a decentralized network are schematically illustrated.

[0292] exist Figure 6A The example illustrates a portion of a chemical product ecosystem, encompassing the production of chemical products and the uses of those products. In this example, input material providers, chemical product producers, and chemical product consumers can connect to decentralized networks, such as... Figure 12 The data is described in the context of the input materials and the chemical products produced. Figure 8 and Figure 12 The ID-based schema described in the context is provided in the form of a passport associated with a physical entity of the input material, chemical product, or other chemical product including the chemical product produced.

[0293] The input material provider may provide input material 302. Input material 302 may be included above. Figure 3 The context describes raw materials or intermediate products, such as dispersants, fillers, monomers, and polymers. The input material data for input material 302 can be accessed via connections such as... Figure 12 In the context of the decentralized network described, the data provider (also referred to as the data service provider) 602 associated with the input material provider is used to provide the data. Chemical product producers can produce chemical products 404 from the input materials 302 provided for chemical product production, such as... Figure 3-5 As described in the context. Chemical product producers can connect to, for example, […]. Figure 12 In the context of the decentralized network described above, a data consumer (also known as a data consumption service) 606 accesses input material data associated with input material 302. This input material data can be retrieved from a data provider 602 associated with a corresponding input material provider. Chemical product producers can generate chemical product passports associated with the produced chemical product 404, for example, as in... Figure 7 and Figure 8 As described in the context. Chemical product producers can connect to, for example... Figure 12 In the context described, a decentralized network data provider 602 provides chemical product passports and biodegradation data contained within said passports. Chemical product consumers, such as end consumers, retailers, or in the case of bottles or fillers, can access these data by connecting to a network such as… Figure 12 In the context of the decentralized network described, data consumer 606 accesses biodegradation data or portions thereof associated with the chemical products 404 produced.

[0294] The respective data owners in this example can be the input material producer, the chemical product producer, and the chemical product consumer. The data owners can include any entity that generates data. The data generating nodes can be coupled to the data owners or entities that own or produce physical products from which or for which data is generated.

[0295] In Figure 6A In examples, the decentralized identifier of the chemical product passport can be related to the chemical product. Such decentralized identifier can be provided to the value chain participants. Via the chemical product specific decentralized identifier, data associated with the chemical product can be collected across the production chain and during the use of the chemical product assigned to the chemical product specific decentralized identifier. For example, one or more environmental properties associated with the chemical product can be derived from environmental properties associated with the input material 302 or any other product entity present in the value chain of the chemical product. Further, biodegradation data associated with the chemical product can be derived from biodegradation data of the input material 302. In examples, in case the chemical product involves a formulation, biodegradation data of the formulation can be directly derived from biodegradation data of the input material.

[0296] The biodegradation data can comprise an identifier, such as a name of the chemical product, a numerical representation of the decomposition products occurring during biodegradation. This can be accompanied by a corresponding lifetime of the decomposition products. The biodegradation data can further comprise: data related to an intended habitat, examples of habitats can be marine habitat, wastewater habitat, freshwater habitat, lake habitat, anaerobic habitat, compost habitat, or soil habitat; data related to an unintended habitat, examples of habitats can be marine habitat, wastewater habitat, freshwater habitat, lake habitat, anaerobic habitat, compost habitat, or soil habitat; data associated with a test method, in particular a standardized test method. The data associated with a standardized test can be associated with one or more elements of the group of test methods: ISO 13432; December 2000; ISO 14852; October 2004; ISO 14855; April 2013; ISO 17556; December 2012; and OECD 301; July 1992. The biodegradation data can comprise a quantification of the degree of biodegradation of the chemical product, in particular, the ratio of the biochemical oxygen demand (mg) is the amount of oxygen consumed by microorganisms (BOD) when metabolizing the chemical product; also expressed as mg oxygen uptake / mg test compound relative to the theoretical oxygen demand (mg) is the total amount of oxygen required for the complete oxidation of the chemical product (ThOD); the ThOD can be calculated from the molecular formula of the chemical product, alternatively or additionally, the biodegradation data can comprise: a ratio of the produced CO2 to the theoretical carbon dioxide amount (ThCO2) produced upon complete biodegradation calculated from the known or measured carbon content of the chemical product upon complete biodegradation; emission data associated with the CO2 emissions caused by biodegradation; data associated with the lag phase, i.e. the time period from inoculation to a biodegradation level of about 10%; data associated with the treatment instructions, the data associated with the treatment instructions can comprise one or more elements of the group of required temperature, required temperature range, required microbial community, and required retention time; data associated with the remaining biomass; biodegradation data of the feedstock and / or intermediate products, wherein the biodegradation data of the feedstock and / or intermediate products can comprise any combination of biodegradation data as disclosed with reference to the biodegradation data of the chemical product, can relate to or comprise properties of the chemical product associated with the production of the chemical product from the chemical product as previously described. Via the chemical product specific decentralized identifier, data associated with the chemical product can be collected during the use of the chemical product. The decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product can be used to update the biodegradation data using the data collected during the use of the chemical product, such as exposure to hazardous materials, for example by filling a bottle with a toxic element, for example by updating the biodegradation data associated with the decentralized identifier or by adding the collected data to the biodegradation data associated with the decentralized identifier.

[0297] In this way, the biodegradation data can represent a digital twin of the chemical product in relation to its biodegradability. Including data related to the use of the chemical product allows updating the digital twin of the chemical product so that it reflects the current state of the biodegradability of the chemical product. Furthermore, the biodegradability can be tracked so that information can be transparent on the value chain while the flow of information can be controlled by the participants in the supply chain. The return points and / or waste management facilities can use the data about the components used to produce the chemical product and the information about the use of the chemical product to determine an appropriate treatment of the end-of-life chemical product based on the data. For example, a waste management facility (see, e.g., Fig. 6) can determine an appropriate treatment of the chemical product for biodegradation based on the data. Figure 6B

[0298] As described in the context of Fig. 6, the end-of-life chemical product can be provided to a waste management facility. The end-of-life chemical product can correspond to the input material 302 of the waste management facility 608 as shown in Fig. 6. The end-of-life biodegradation data of the end-of-life chemical product 302 can be provided by a data provider 602 associated with a chemical product producer, a retailer, a distributor, a further processing company, an end consumer, and / or a waste collector connected to the decentralized network as described in the context of Fig. 6. The waste management facility 608 can biodegrade the end-of-life chemical product, e.g., as described in the context of Fig. 6. The waste management facility can access the end-of-life biodegradation data associated with the end-of-life chemical product 302 by a data consumer (also referred to as a data consumption service) 606 connected to the decentralized network as described in the context of Fig. 6. The end-of-life biodegradation data can be retrieved from the data provider 602 associated with the chemical product producer. The waste management facility can generate a biodegradation product passport associated with the end of the biodegradation process, e.g., biomass obtained from the biodegradation and / or minerals obtained from the biodegradation process, e.g., as described in the context of Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. Figure 3 Figure 6B Figure 12 Figure 3 Figure 12 Figure 7 Figure 8

[0299] The waste management facility 608 can provide the biodegradation product data or parts thereof contained in the biodegradation product passport by a data provider 602 connected to the decentralized network as described in the context of Fig. 6. In this example, the respective data owners can be the chemical product producer 304 and / or a regulatory authority and the waste management facility 608. This allows tracking the removal of the chemical product by biodegradation. Figure 12

[0300] In the context of Fig. 6, the end-of-life chemical product can be provided to a waste management facility. The end-of-life chemical product can correspond to the input material 302 of the waste management facility 608 as shown in Fig. 6. The end-of-life biodegradation data of the end-of-life chemical product 302 can be provided by a data provider 602 associated with a chemical product producer, a retailer, a distributor, a further processing company, an end consumer, and / or a waste collector connected to the decentralized network as described in the context of Fig. 6. The waste management facility 608 can biodegrade the end-of-life chemical product, e.g., as described in the context of Fig. 6. The waste management facility can access the end-of-life biodegradation data associated with the end-of-life chemical product 302 by a data consumer (also referred to as a data consumption service) 606 connected to the decentralized network as described in the context of Fig. 6. The end-of-life biodegradation data can be retrieved from the data provider 602 associated with the chemical product producer. The waste management facility can generate a biodegradation product passport associated with the end of the biodegradation process, e.g., biomass obtained from the biodegradation and / or minerals obtained from the biodegradation process, e.g., as described in the context of Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. Figure 6B ​​​​​​​​​In the context of the examples, the decentralized identifier can relate to a biodegradable product. Such a decentralized identifier can be provided to a value chain participant. Via the decentralized identifier, data associated with biodegradation of the chemical product can be collected and assigned to the decentralized identifier. The decentralized identifier can relate to a chemical product specific decentralized identifier. In this way, data for a chemical product used to produce a biodegradable product can be derived from a decentralized identifier included in a product passport. For example, a biodegradable material passport can include a decentralized identifier included in a chemical product passport and data regarding a relationship between the decentralized chemical product identifier and the decentralized identifier included in the biodegradable material passport.

[0301] Figure 7 An example method for generating a chemical product passport is illustrated. A chemical product passport can be generated for a chemical product 404 produced from one or more inventory materials 302 by a chemical product production 304, for example as described in the context of Figure 4-6A A chemical product passport can be generated by an operating system 402 of the chemical product production 304. A chemical product passport can be generated by an operating system of a further processing company. The operating system can comprise means for generating a chemical product passport, for example as described in the context of Figure 8

[0302] In block 702, a request to generate a chemical product passport for a produced chemical product can be received. The request can include a data owner identifier and / or a chemical product identifier. The data owner can be a data owner of collected data and / or data included in a distributed data source. The data owner can be a chemical product producer. The data owner can be a data owner as previously described. The chemical product identifier can be a batch number, a LOT number, a chemical product name, and / or a chemical product ID. The request can be generated by a requester, for example as described in the context of Figure 7 The request can be received at a computing node that acts as a management module of a DID owner, a user agent, an ID hub, and / or an authentication issuer. The decentralized identifier can be requested from a central or decentralized node.

[0303] In block 704, an authentication mechanism can be provided or selected, which block is generally optional. The authentication mechanism can comprise a private-public key pair. The authentication mechanism can be selected or provided if the decentralized identifier to be generated comprises a DID.

[0304] In block 706, a decentralized identifier associated with biodegradation data and a data owner can be generated or provided. The decentralized identifier can comprise one or more DIDs and / or UUIDs. The decentralized identifier and data related to the authentication mechanism can be generated or provided.

[0305] ​In block 708, data related to biodegradation data can be provided. The data related to biodegradation data can include the biodegradation data previously mentioned, for example, in the context of Figure 4-6B The biodegradation data can be collected prior to, during, or after production of the chemical product and / or during use. The biodegradation data can be stored on a data storage medium, such as one or more databases. Providing the biodegradation data can include retrieving the biodegradation data based on a chemical product identifier, such as the chemical product identifier included in the request received in block 702. The data related to biodegradation data can include a digital representation pointing to the biodegradation data or portions thereof, for example, as described in the context of Figure 4-6B

[0306] In block 710, a chemical product passport can be generated based on the provided or generated decentralized identifier and data related to biodegradation data. The chemical product passport can include the decentralized identifier provided or generated in block 706 and the data related to biodegradation data provided in block 708. The chemical product passport can correspond to a DID document associated with the decentralized identifier as a DID. The DID document can contain a digital representation pointing to the biodegradation data or portions thereof. The chemical product passport can also include a chemical product identifier. The chemical product identifier can be the chemical product identifier included in the received request. The generated chemical product passport can be stored in a database. The generated chemical product passport or portions thereof can be provided for access by data consumption services controlled by data provider services associated with the data owner, for example, as described in the context of Figure 8 and Figure 12

[0307] In block 714, a physical identifier can be assigned to the decentralized identifier included in the chemical product passport, which is generally optional. Assigning the decentralized identifier to the physical identifier can include generating a physical identifier that has the decentralized identifier embedded. The physical identifier can be generated by an ID assigner, for example, as described in the context of Figure 5 and can be attached to the chemical product, for example, using a labeling device.

[0308] The generated chemical product passport allows for simplified and customizable data sharing or exchange of biodegradation data associated with chemical products produced from the chemical industry to other participants of the chemical product value chain, as described with reference to Figure 3-6B The use of the biodegradation data can allow for increasing the biodegradation rate of end-of-life chemical products, for example, by using the biodegradation data to determine appropriate biodegradation conditions for the end-of-life chemical products.

[0309] Figure 8 ​​An example system and associated method for generating a chemical product passport associated with a produced chemical product and providing access to the generated chemical product passport is illustrated.

[0310] Chemical product production 304 can produce a chemical product 404 from one or more inventory materials (also denoted as precursor materials) 302. The inventory materials can include chemical feedstocks and / or intermediate products, such as the feedstocks and / or intermediate products described in the context of Figure 3-6A Chemical product production 304 can be chemical product production as described in the context of Figure 3-6A The inventory materials 302 can enter the system boundary 804 of the chemical product production 304. The chemical product 404 can be produced using the inventory materials 302, such as described in the context of Figure 3-6A The chemical product 304 can exit the system boundary 804 of the chemical product production 304.

[0311] Upon production of the chemical product 404 or upon exit of the chemical product 404 from the chemical product production 304, a chemical product passport associated with the produced chemical product 404 can be generated. The chemical product passport associated with the produced chemical product can be generated upon production of a further chemical product comprising the respective chemical product. The chemical product passport can be generated by an apparatus 802 for generating a chemical product passport. The apparatus 802 can be configured to generate the chemical product passport according to the method described in the context of Figure 7 The apparatus 802 can be configured to receive a request for providing a decentralized identifier. The decentralized identifier can be associated with biodegradation data and a data owner. The data owner can comprise any entity that generated the biodegradation data or a portion thereof. The data owner can be the data owner of the biodegradation data or the portion thereof. The data owner can be a chemical product producer. The data owner can have access to the biodegradation data or the portion thereof. Thus, the data owner can directly or indirectly own the biodegradation data or the portion thereof. The decentralized identifier can be associated with the chemical product passport and the data owner. The apparatus 802 can be configured to generate the chemical product passport in response to the received request.

[0312] A requestor 806 can be configured to generate a request for a decentralized identifier. The request can be triggered by a labeling system, such as a QR code generator. The request can be triggered by a code reading system, such as a QR code reader. The request for providing a decentralized identifier can be provided to a decentralized ID generator 808 configured to generate the decentralized identifier. The decentralized ID generator 808 can be configured to generate the decentralized identifier associated with the biodegradation data and the data owner. The decentralized ID generator 808 can provide the generated decentralized identifier to a decentralized ID provider 810. Although in the context of Figure 8The decentralized ID generator 808 and the decentralized ID provider 810 are shown as separate units, but their functions can be combined within a single unit, such that the apparatus 802 comprises a decentralized ID providing unit configured to generate or retrieve a decentralized identifier and to provide the generated decentralized identifier.

[0313] The decentralized ID provider 810 can provide the decentralized identifier received from the decentralized ID generator 808 to the requestor 806. The requestor 806 can be configured to associate the received decentralized identifier with the produced chemical product 404. Thus, the requestor 806 can comprise an ID assigner as described in the context of Figure 4 and Figure 5 Such association can comprise encoding the decentralized identifier into a code and providing the code for marking the chemical product 404. Such association can comprise interrelating the decentralized identifier with a physical identifier of the chemical product. In this way, a physical identifier can be provided that relates the physical entity of the chemical product with the provided decentralized identifier and thus with the chemical product passport to which the decentralized identifier is associated.

[0314] The decentralized ID provider 810 can provide the decentralized identifier to a chemical product passport generator 812 configured to generate a chemical product passport comprising the decentralized identifier received from the decentralized ID provider 810 and data related to biodegradation data. The chemical product passport generator 812 can generate a chemical product passport as described, for example, in the context of Figure 7 The biodegradation data or parts thereof can be provided to the chemical product passport generator 812 from a data storage medium, such as a database (not shown). A digital representation pointing to the biodegradation data or parts thereof can be generated by the chemical product passport generator 812. The generated chemical product passport can be stored on a data storage medium (not shown).

[0315] The generated chemical product passport can be provided to a chemical product passport provider 814. The chemical product passport provider 814 can be configured to provide the chemical product passport for access by a data consumption service 818. The data consumption service 818 can be part of the decentralized network 816. The data consumption service 818 can be associated with a chemical product recipient, for example, as described in the context of Figure 6Bdescribed in the context of FIG. 8. The chemical product passport provider 814 can control access to the data consumption service 818. The chemical product passport provider 814 can be a data providing service associated with the chemical product production 304. The chemical product passport provider 814 can be associated with or controlled by the data owner of the biodegradation data associated with the generated chemical product passport. The biodegradation data or portions thereof contained in the chemical product passport can be provided to the data consumption service 818, e.g., in response to a request for the biodegradation data associated with the decentralized identifier of the chemical product passport. Figure 12 This allows for a controlled and secure way of transferring or accessing the chemical product passport and the biodegradation data or portions thereof.

[0316] Figure 9 An example method for further processing of biodegradation data associated with a chemical product passport using the chemical product passport is shown.

[0317] To use the chemical product passport, an indication to access biodegradation data associated with a decentralized identifier of a chemical product passport can be received in block 902. The chemical product passport can be structured as listed in Figure 13 and Figure 14 The chemical product passport can be generated as listed in Figure 7 and Figure 8

[0318] Before access to the biodegradation data can be provided, a request can be authenticated in block 904. In particular, the data consumption service requesting access to the biodegradation data and / or the data providing service providing access to the chemical process data can be authenticated. Such authentication can be based on decentralized identities and data related to an authentication mechanism. The authentication can be performed by different communication modes, which will be listed in more detail in Figure 10A and Figure 10B

[0319] If the authentication fails, access to the biodegradation data can be denied (see block 908). If the authentication is valid, an authorization step can follow in block 910. Such authorization can be based on decentralized identifiers and data related to an authorization rule. The data can be associated with the decentralized identifier.

[0320] If the authorization fails, access to the biodegradation data can be denied (see block 914) or can be adapted. In particular, the requested authorization can be adapted to comply with the applicable authorization rule. If the authorization is valid, access to the biodegradation data can be granted in block 916 according to the requested authorization rule, and the requested biodegradation data can be provided according to the authorization rule. Such access to the biodegradation data associated with the decentralized identifier can be provided using the digital representation contained in the chemical product passport.

[0321] ​​In block 918, the received biodegradation data can be processed. For example, the received biodegradation data can be used to determine disposal of used chemical products, such as biodegradation according to data associated with disposal instructions.

[0322] Figure 10A and 10B An example method for authentication to access biodegradation data associated with a chemical product passport is shown. During the authentication process, various communication patterns can be implemented to verify identity.

[0323] Figure 10A One example communication pattern that can occur between a data providing service 602 and a data consuming service 606 is illustrated. In this case, the data providing service 602 can act as a verifying entity and can not use a separate service for authentication.

[0324] The data consuming service 606 can request service from the data providing service 602 (see step [1]). The request can include a decentralized identifier of the data consuming service decentralized identifier, such as a decentralized identifier (DID) or verifiable credential.

[0325] In response to the request, the data providing service can access a registry, such as a central or decentralized authentication registry, to retrieve data related to an authentication mechanism associated with the decentralized identifier. For example, a central authentication registry can provide data related to the authentication mechanism via an authentication service that issues an access token. Further, for example, a decentralized authentication registry can provide data related to the authentication mechanism by generating a request token. The data related to the authentication mechanism can include a public key of the data consuming service.

[0326] Based on the retrieved data related to the authentication mechanism, the data providing service can generate an authentication request (e.g., corresponding to an authentication request token or dynamic attribute token) (see step [2]). The authentication request can be generated based on the public key of the data consuming service and / or a private key of the data providing service 602. The generated authentication request can be sent to the data consuming service 606 (see step [3]).

[0327] Based on the received authentication request, the data consuming service 606 can generate authentication data for responding to the authentication request (step [4]). The generated authentication data can be sent back to the data providing service 602 (step [5]).

[0328] Upon receiving the response from the data consuming service 606 including the authentication data, the data providing service 602 can then verify the authentication data (see step [6]). In response to the verification, the data providing service 602 can grant or deny the service request of the data consuming service 606 (step [7]).

[0329] Figure 10B Another communication pattern that can occur between the data providing service 602, the authentication service 1004, and the data consuming service 606 is illustrated.

[0330] First, the data consuming service 606 can request a service or initiate a communication with the data providing service 602 (step [1]). The request can include a decentralized identifier of the data consuming service decentralized identifier, such as a decentralized identifier (DID) or verifiable credential.

[0331] Upon receiving the request, the data providing service 602 can access the distributed ledger to retrieve one or more authentication mechanisms associated with the decentralized identifier. Based on the retrieved authentication mechanisms, the authentication service 1004 can generate an authentication request.

[0332] Here, at least one of the retrieved authentication mechanisms can be provided via the authentication service 1004. As such, in some embodiments, the generated authentication request can be sent directly to the authentication service 1004 (steps [2], [3]). Upon receiving the authentication request from the data providing service 602, the authentication service 1004 can generate authentication data (step [4]). The authentication data generated by the authentication service 1004 can be sent to the data consuming service 606 (step [5]).

[0333] The data consuming service 606 can then, in turn, pass the authentication data to the data providing service 602 (step [6]). Upon receiving the authentication data, the data providing service 602 can then verify the authentication data (step [7]). In response to the verification, the data providing service can grant or deny the service request of the data consuming service 606 (step [8]).

[0334] Alternatively, in some embodiments, after the data providing service 602 can generate the authentication request, the authentication request can be sent to the data consuming service 602. The data consuming service can pass the authentication request to the authentication service 1004 (not shown).

[0335] Further, after the authentication service 1004 can generate the authentication data, in some embodiments, the authentication service only contacts the data consuming service 606 to notify of the receipt of the authentication request and to obtain consent. When the data consuming service 606 receives the notification, the data consuming service 606 can consent and send the consent back to the authentication service 1004. Upon receiving the consent, the authentication service 1004 can then send the authentication data directly to the data providing service 602.

[0336] Finally, in many transactions, authentication can be performed by both parties reciprocally. In this case of reciprocal authentication, each involved party can be a subject entity and a verifying entity. The data consuming service 606 and the data providing service 602 can have control over their decentralized identities. At the beginning, the services can exchange their decentralized identifiers. Next, each service can access the distributed ledger to obtain each other's authentication mechanism. Each service can then generate its own authentication request based on the other's ID authentication method. The generated authentication data can then be sent to the other service. Having received each other's authentication data, each service can verify the received authentication data. Based on the verification result, the services can then perform additional communications, e.g., one service can grant or deny the service request of the other service.

[0337] Figure 10A and Figure 10B Only an example of an authentication protocol is shown. Moreover, although the communication arrows are discussed in a particular order or illustrated in a communication sequence, a particular order is not required unless specifically stated or required, as the communications depend on another communication being completed prior to transmitting the communication.

[0338] Figure 11 An example method for authorizing access to biodegradation data is shown. The biodegradation data can be associated with a chemical product passport that includes a decentralized identifier and data related to the biodegradation data. The chemical product passport can be generated as described in the context of Figure 7 and Figure 8 The chemical product passport can be generated as described in the context of

[0339] In block 1102, a decentralized identifier of the chemical product passport (denoted as a decentralized chemical product identifier hereinafter) and a set of authorization rules of the biodegradation data associated with the decentralized identifier can be provided. The set of authorization rules can include usage instructions that define a usage policy of an entity for accessing the biodegradation data associated with the decentralized identifier. The set of rules can include one or more local rules specific to a particular location. The one or more local rules can be based on a location where the decentralized identifier is generated, a location where the data providing service is implemented, a location where the data consuming service is implemented, or a combination thereof.

[0340] The one or more local rules can be based on a location or a data providing service provided by the data providing service. The location can refer to a jurisdictional range, and the local rules can be associated with legal requirements related to the production, supply, and end-of-life treatment of the chemical product. For example, access to the chemical product can be provided via an authorization rule that can include a jurisdictional or local rule. The biodegradation data can include in the authorization rule a jurisdictional or local rule that can be based on a location where the data providing service is implemented, a location where the data consuming service is implemented, or a combination thereof. Figure 3-6BThe authorization ruleset can include at least one regulatory directive configured to provide access to biodegradation data related to regulatory requirements for the chemical product. The provided authorization ruleset can be related to the access entity decentralized identifier. The authorization rules can include computer executable instructions to allow access to biodegradation data associated with the decentralized chemical product identifier, deny access to biodegradation data associated with the decentralized chemical product identifier, modify access to biodegradation data associated with the decentralized chemical product identifier, or modify biodegradation data associated with the decentralized chemical product identifier. The authorization rules can relate to each data point of the biodegradation data or a category of biodegradation data, where the selected authorization rules can be bound to the biodegradation data, a category of biodegradation data, individual data points, or a combination thereof. The authorization ruleset can include one or more of the prescribed rules related to obligations of the data consumption service associated with the access entity decentralized identifier. The authorization ruleset can include one or more of the prescribed rules related to emissions data, production data, recyclate content data, biobased content data, provenance data, labor conditions data, biodegradation data, or a combination thereof. The authorization ruleset can include one or more of the prescribed rules related to handling of emissions data, production data, recyclate content data, biobased content data, provenance data, labor conditions data, biodegradation data, or a combination thereof by the data consumption service associated with the access entity decentralized identifier.

[0341] In block 1104, a decentralized identifier or data related to a decentralized identifier of an access entity (hereinafter denoted as an access entity decentralized identifier) can be provided.

[0342] In block 1106, authorization rules for biodegradation data associated with the decentralized chemical product identifier can be selected based on the access entity decentralized identifier or data related to the access entity decentralized identifier. The authorization rules can include computer executable instructions to allow, deny, or modify the biodegradation data. The authorization rules can relate to each data point of the biodegradation data or a collection or category of biodegradation data. The selected authorization rules can be stored for application to the biodegradation data. Such authorization rules can be applied prior to or at the time of a data transaction. The selected authorization rules can be bound to the biodegradation data, individual data points for application to the biodegradation data, or a category of biodegradation data.

[0343] In block 1108, the selected authorization rules can be applied to the biodegradation data associated with the decentralized chemical product identifier. The selected authorization rules can be applied prior to accessing the biodegradation data. The selected authorization rules can be applied at the time of accessing the biodegradation data during runtime.

[0344] In block 1110, biodegradation data associated with the decentralized chemical product identifier can be provided in accordance with the selected authorization rule.

[0345] Figure 12 A schematic is shown of providing access to a chemical product passport associated with a chemical product via a data providing service associated with a data owner, the access being made using a data consuming service associated with a chemical product consumer via a decentralized network.

[0346] A chemical product 402, as produced by a chemical product production 304, can be provided in association with a chemical product passport. The chemical product passport can be generated as described in the context of Figure 7 and Figure 8 The chemical product passport can include a decentralized identifier associated with the biodegradation data and the data owner. The chemical product passport can include data related to the biodegradation data. The data related to the biodegradation data can include a digital representation pointing to the biodegradation data or a portion thereof (see, e.g., FIG. 4). Figure 13 ).

[0347] The chemical product passport can also include or refer to authentication and / or authorization information linked to the decentralized identifier. The authentication and / or authorization information can be provided for authentication and / or authorization of the data providing service 602 and / or the data consuming service 606. The decentralized identifier can include a universally unique identifier (UUID) and / or a decentralized identifier (DID). The decentralized identifier can include any unique identifier uniquely associated with the data owner and / or the biodegradation data and / or the chemical product. The data owner can be a producer of the chemical product. The data owner can own or have access to the biodegradation data or a portion thereof. Via the decentralized identifier and its unique association with the data owner and / or the chemical product, access to the biodegradation data can be controlled by the data owner. The data owner can include any entity that generates the data. The data generating node can be coupled to the data owner or an entity that owns or produces the chemical product from which or for which the data is generated. The data can be generated by a third party entity on behalf of the entity that owns the chemical product from which or for which the data is generated.

[0348] Chemical product 404 can be physically delivered to consumers of chemical products, such as retailers, distributors, end consumers, and / or waste management facilities. Chemical product 404 may include a code that has been encoded with a decentralized identifier, such as a QR code. In some cases, the code may be provided on the container. This is advantageous when the chemical product involves liquids. Consumers of chemical product 404 can read the code via code reader 1202. The decentralized identifier may be provided to a database 1204 associated with consumers of chemical product 404. In other embodiments, consumers of chemical product 404 may retrieve the decentralized identifier via registry 1206. For example, a chemical product identifier encoded in a code can be used to retrieve the decentralized identifier from registry 1206. Registry 1206 may store the decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product passport. Registry 1206 may also store access data associated with the decentralized identifier. Access data may include a digital representation pointing to biodegradable data or a portion thereof. Thus, access data may allow identification of data providing biodegradable data or a portion thereof to provide service 602.

[0349] Based on the received decentralized identifier, a request to access biodegradable data associated with the decentralized identifier can be triggered by data consumption service 606, as indicated by arrow 1210. The decentralized identifier can be provided to data service 602 associated with or belonging to the producer of 404. Furthermore, authentication and / or authorization information can be provided.

[0350] This request can be authenticated (see [link]). Figure 10A and Figure 10B Access to biodegradable data associated with a decentralized identifier may be granted based on successful authorization and / or authentication.

[0351] Data service provider 606 may use the received data to retrieve biodegradation data or portions thereof associated with the produced chemical product 404, as indicated by arrows 1212 and 1214. Biodegradation data or portions thereof associated with the chemical product 404 retrieved by data service provider 602 may be provided to data consumption service 606, as indicated by arrow 1216. The received biodegradation data or portions thereof may be stored in database 1204 associated with consumers of the chemical product 404, as indicated by arrow 1218.

[0352] Through decentralized identifiers, biodegradable data, or portions thereof, can be uniquely associated with chemical products. Through decentralized networks, biodegradable data, or portions thereof, can be transferred in a standardized and secure manner between producers and consumers of chemical products, as well as other participants in the chemical product value chain. In this way, biodegradable data, or portions thereof, can be shared through a unique association with chemical products without the need for a direct central intermediary between value chain participants. This allows for transparency of biodegradable datasets across the value chain. Therefore, chemical product passports allow for the sharing of biodegradable data under simplified and customizable conditions without compromising data security and data sovereignty.

[0353] Although descriptions have already been made regarding chemical product producers and chemical product consumers Figure 12 However, the exchange of biodegradation data can also be carried out between chemical product producers and other participants in the value chain, such as retailers, recycling companies, waste collectors, waste management facilities and / or agencies.

[0354] Figure 13 Examples of ID-based owner data, ID-based chemical product passport data, and decentralized identity managers are shown.

[0355] A decentralized identifier can be a decentralized ID (DID). A chemical product passport can be a DID document associated with a DID. ID-based owner data can include a DID associated with a subject, such as biodegradable data, and can include authentication mechanisms. ID-based owner data can include owner data electronically owned and controlled by the DID owner. In this context, electronic ownership can refer to data stored in an owner's repository or wallet. This data can be securely stored and / or managed on an organization's server or a consumer device. ID-based owner data can include a DID, a private key, and a public key. An ID-based owner can own and control the DID representing the identity associated with the DID subject, and the private and public key pair associated with the DID. A DID can be understood as an identifier and authentication information associated with or uniquely linked to the identifier.

[0356] The DID principal can be a chemical product. The DID principal can be a machine, system, or device for producing a chemical product, or a collection of such machines, devices, and / or systems. The DID owner can be a chemical product producer. The DID owner can be an upstream participant in a chemical product value chain of a chemical product producer, such as a supplier that supplies raw chemical products or precursors to produce a chemical product. The DID owner can be a downstream participant in a chemical product value chain of a chemical product producer, such as a consumer that consumes a chemical product. The DID owner can be any participant in a chemical product supply chain, including a raw chemical product supplier, an intermediate chemical product manufacturer, a chemical product producer, a chemical product collector, such as a waste collector, a refurbishing company, or a recycling company.

[0357] The DID can be any identifier associated with the DID principal and / or the DID owner. Preferably, the identifier is unique to the DID principal and / or the DID owner. The identifier can be unique at least within the scope of the intended use of the DID. The identifier can be a local or global unique identifier of a chemical product; a machine, system, or device for producing a chemical product, or a collection of such machines, devices, and / or systems; a chemical product manufacturer, a chemical product producer, a downstream participant in a chemical product value chain of a chemical product producer, or a collection thereof; any participant in a chemical product value chain, including a raw material supplier, an intermediate product manufacturer, a chemical product manufacturer, a chemical product distributor, a chemical product retailer, a chemical product end consumer, a chemical product collector, such as a waste collector, a chemical product recycler, and a waste management facility, or a collection thereof.

[0358] The DID can be a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), such as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The DID can be an Internationalized Resource Identifier (IRI). The DID can be a random string of numbers and letters for added security. In one embodiment, the DID can be a 128-character string of letters and numbers, for example, according to the following scheme did:method name:method specific did, such as did:example:ebfeb1f712ebc6f1c276e12ec21. The DID can be managed independently of a centralized third-party management system and decentralized under the control of the DID owner.

[0359] The DID document 1304 can be associated with a DID. Thus, the DID document 1304 can include a reference to the DID, which can be associated with the DID subject described by the DID document. The DID document 1304 can include authentication information, such as a public key. The public key can be used by third party entities that are given permission by the DID owner / subject to access information and data owned by the DID owner / subject. The public key can be used to verify that the DID owner actually owns or controls the DID. The DID document 1304 can include authentication information, authorization information, for example, to authorize third party entities to read the DID document or certain portions of the DID document 1304, for example, without giving the third party the right to prove ownership of the DID.

[0360] The DID document 1304 can include additional identifiers, such as identifiers associated with different portions or categories of biodegradation data. The DID document 1304 can also include one or more representations of biodegradation data linked to, for example, by a service endpoint. The service endpoint can include a network address at which a service operates on behalf of the DID owner. In particular, the service endpoint can refer to a service of the DID owner that provides access to biodegradation data or portions thereof. Such a service can include a service that reads or analyzes biodegradation data or portions thereof. The biodegradation data can include data described in the context of Figure 3-6B

[0361] The DID document 1304 can include various other information, such as metadata that specifies when the DID document 1304 was created, when it was last modified, and / or when it expires.

[0362] The DID and DD document 1340 can be associated with a data registry node, such as a centralized data service system or a decentralized data service system 1306, for example, a distributed ledger or blockchain or a decentralized file system. The distributed ledger or blockchain can be used to store a representation of the DID that points to the DID document 1304. The representation of the DID can be stored on distributed computing nodes of the distributed ledger or blockchain 1306. For example, a DID hash can be stored on multiple computing nodes of the distributed ledger and points to the location of the DID document 1304. In some embodiments, the DID document 1304 can be stored on the distributed ledger 1306. Each of the computing nodes can store a copy of the distributed ledger 1306. In this way, each DID hash can be stored redundantly, allowing for increased data security. DID associated with multiple different DID documents 1304 can be included in the distributed ledger 1306.

[0363] ​In some embodiments, the DID document 1304 can be stored on the distributed ledger 1306, i.e., in addition or alternatively, the associated DID representation is stored on the distributed ledger 1306. In other embodiments, the DID document 1304 can be stored in a data store (not shown) associated with the distributed ledger or blockchain or decentralized file system.

[0364] The distributed ledger or blockchain 1306 can be any decentralized distributed network comprising various computing nodes in communication with one another. For example, the distributed ledger 1306 can comprise a first distributed computing node, a second distributed computing node, a third distributed computing node, and any number of additional distributed computing nodes (not shown). The distributed ledger or blockchain 1306 can comprise known technology stacks such as Bitcoin (see, e.g., Bitcoin documentation published November 11, 2022 at https: / / en.bitcoin.it / wiki / Protocol_documentation), Ethereum (see, e.g., Ethereum documentation published August 15, 2022 at https: / / ethereum.org / en / developers / docs / ), Solana (see, e.g., Solana documentation published November 11, 2022 at https: / / spl.solana.com / ), Polygon (see, e.g., Polygon documentation published November 11, 2022 at https: / / wiki.polygon.technology / ), or other implementations with varying degrees of data transactions performed on a distributed ledger. The description of example frameworks is for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered limiting.

[0365] Figure 14 Examples of ID-based certificate data, ID-based chemical product passport data, and identity managers are shown.

[0366] In contrast to the examples of Figure 13 Figure 14 ​Examples of the certificate data 1402 are certificate-based. The certificate data 1402 can include authentication data for a subject and a certificate issuer. The subject can be a data owner or a data providing service 602 operated by or controlled by a data owner. The certificate data 1402 can also include a subject name for which a certificate is issued, such as a data owner name, a data owner ID, a data provider name, a data provider ID, or a combination thereof. The certificate can be an X.509 certificate, such as X509v3. The certificate data 1402 can be associated with an IDS infrastructure 1406 that includes, for example, a certificate authority service (CA) 1408 and / or a dynamic provisioning service (DAPS) 1410 that provides dynamic attribute tokens (e.g., OAuth access tokens). The certificate data 1402 can also include various other information, such as metadata that specifies when a certificate was created, when a certificate was last modified, and / or when a certificate expires. Information required to validate the certificate data 1402 can be provided via an authentication registry associated with the certificate authority service and / or the dynamic provisioning service. For example, in the IDSA Reference Architecture Model Version 3.0 of April 2019, a data providing service 602 associated with or controlled by a data owner, a certification authority (CA) 1408, a dynamic attribute provisioning service (DAPS) 1410, and a data consuming service (not shown) are used to validate identity prior to performing a data exchange (e.g., see Figure 10A and Figure 10B ).

[0367] The certificate data 1402 and the chemical product passport data 1404 can be stored within the data providing service 602. The data providing service 602 can be associated with or controlled by a data owner of biodegradation data.

[0368] The chemical product passport data 1404 can include a decentralized identifier, authorization data, and an endpoint associated with biodegradation data or a portion thereof. The decentralized identifier can be a universally unique identifier (UUID), such as a UUIDv4. The UUIDv4 can conform to the following format: [0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}. The authorization information can be used to control access to biodegradation data or a portion thereof, for example, as described in the context of Figure 9 The endpoint can include a pointer to any digital representation of biodegradation data or a portion thereof. The biodegradation data can include data mentioned in the context of Figure 3-6B .

[0369] The chemical product passport data 1404 can include various other information, such as metadata that specifies when a chemical product passport was created, when it was last modified, and / or when it expires.

[0370] FIGS. 15-17 illustrate different example configurations of a chemical product passport anchored by a digital identifier. The configurations include different relationships of passports generated in a chemical product value chain, including a raw material supplier, an intermediate product manufacturer, a chemical product manufacturer, a chemical product distributor, a chemical product retailer, a chemical product end consumer, a chemical product collector, such as a waste collector, a chemical product recycler, and a waste management facility. The passports can be generated using the methods described in the context of Figure 7 FIGS. 15-17.

[0371] Figure 15A A single configuration of different passports generated in a chemical product value chain is illustrated, for example, as described in the context of Figure 3 FIGS. 15-17. For multiple product stages in a chemical product value chain, a single passport can be generated. The passport generation can include providing a decentralized identifier and data related to respective product data for each of the multiple product stages. The passport generation can also include providing an authentication mechanism. The passports for the multiple product stages can be based on cryptographic signatures. For example, the passports for the multiple product stages can be concatenated through hash values based on different data sets. As shown in Figure 15A Hash 1 can be based on data of the raw material passport, Hash 2 can be based on data of the intermediate product passport, and Hash 3 can be based on data of the raw material passport plus data of the intermediate product passport. Likewise, Hash 4 can be based on data of the chemical product passport, and Hash 5 can be based on data of the chemical product passport and the chemical product passport. Further concatenations can be made to other combinations of passports up to Hash 7, which can concatenate the chemical product passport and the biodegradable product passport. The hashes can be used to generate a hash chain, allowing determination of the raw material used to produce the chemical product and the chemical product and determination of the end-of-life of the chemical product at the waste management facility. The sequence of hashes from Hash 1 to Hash 7 can be considered a “mirror” of the value chain, as it reflects the relationships between the respective passports. The concatenation of hashes via cryptographic signatures is only one example concatenation. Other examples include a permission aggregation with different data ranges that can be embedded in a child passport, a public key aggregation with different cryptographic signatures, or a service endpoint aggregation with different links.

[0372] Figure 15B A different passport is illustrated that includes a concatenation associated with multiple digital identifiers based on a representation of relationships of different products associated with product stages of a chemical product value chain. In the passport, one passport is associated with a chemical product. In this particular example, hash values are used for a concatenation associated with multiple decentralized identifiers. The data sets used to generate the hash values are illustrated schematically in Figure 15A

[0373] The raw material passport can be provided to an intermediate product producer that uses the raw material to produce an intermediate product. The raw material and the intermediate product can include in the context of Figure 3-6B ​The raw material passport can be linked to a hash value "Hashl". The hash value "Hashl" can be generated via a hash algorithm such as MD5, SHA-1, SHA-2, SHA-3, or any other suitable algorithm based on a one-way function that cannot be reverse-engineered. The hash value "Hashl" can be generated based on data included in or linked to the raw material passport. The data used for hash generation can include a decentralized identifier associated with the raw material data and data. The data used for hash generation can include a decentralized identifier associated with the raw material, data related to the raw material, and / or encrypted information linked to the digital identifier. The hash value "Hashl" can be used by participant nodes of the chemical product value chain to check the integrity of the data package transmitted from the raw material supplier to, for example, the intermediate product producer.

[0374] Similar to the raw material passport, an intermediate product passport can be provided to a chemical product producer that uses the intermediate product to produce a chemical product. The generation of the chemical product passport can be based on the intermediate product passport provided to the chemical product producer that uses the intermediate product to produce a chemical product. The chemical product passport can be linked to one or more hash values "Hash4", "Hash5". The hash values "Hash4", "Hash5" can be generated via a hash algorithm such as MD5, SHA-1, SHA-2, SHA-3, or any other suitable algorithm based on a one-way function that cannot be reverse-engineered. The hash values "Hash4", "Hash5" can be generated based on data included in or linked to the intermediate product passport and / or the raw material passport. The hash values "Hash4", "Hash5" can be generated based on the plaintext data itself or based on hash values generated from the plaintext data. For example, Hash5 can be generated based on intermediate product passport data and chemical product passport data or based on hashed intermediate product data and hashed chemical product passport data. The data used for hash generation can include a decentralized identifier associated with the intermediate product used to produce the chemical product, a decentralized identifier associated with the chemical product, data related to the intermediate product, and / or data related to the chemical product.

[0375] The cascade associated with multiple decentralized identifiers can involve decentralized identifiers associated with biodegradable products, chemical products, and precursor materials used to produce chemical products. Hash data related to or included in the respective passports can provide such a cascade. The data mentioned in the context of Figure 15A . As shown in FIG. 6, a hash value "Hash4" can be generated in relation to the chemical product passport. As shown in FIG. 7, a hash value "Hash5" can be generated in relation to the chemical product passport. Figure 15A Figure 15A ​As shown, a hash value "hash5" can be generated in relation to the intermediate product passport and the chemical product passport. Participant nodes in the chemical product value chain can use the hash value to check the integrity of transmitted data packets. The combined hash value can be further used by participant nodes in the chemical product value chain to determine the relationships between products at different stages and to check the integrity of these relationships.

[0376] like Figure 15A and 15B As shown, the hash value can be linked to a passport associated with one or more product stages in the chemical product value chain.

[0377] Figure 16A This illustrates the anchoring configurations of different passports generated within a chemical product value chain. For chemical products in waste management facilities, biodegradable product passports can be generated. For multiple further product stages in the chemical product value chain, individual passports can be generated and embedded or linked to biodegradable product passports. Passport generation may include providing decentralized identifiers and data associated with the corresponding product data for each of the multiple product stages. Passport generation may also include providing authentication mechanisms. Passports for multiple product stages can be based on cryptographic signatures. For example, passports for multiple additional product stages can be cascaded based on hash values ​​from different datasets. Figure 16A As shown, hash 1 can be based on data from the raw material passport, hash 2 can be based on data from the chemical product passport, and hash 3 can be based on the raw material passport data plus the chemical product passport data. Similarly, hash 4 can be based on data from the chemical product passport, and hash 5 can be based on both the chemical product passport data and the chemical product passport. Further cascading can be performed on other combinations of passports up to hash 7, which cascades the chemical product passports. Further cascading can be performed on other combinations of passports up to hash 7, which cascades all passports up to the biodegradable product passport. The hash sequence from hash 1 to hash 7 can be viewed as a "mirror image" of the value chain from raw materials to waste management facilities, as it reflects the relationships between the corresponding passports. The cascading of hashes via cryptographic signatures is just one example cascading. Other examples include permissioned aggregations with different data ranges that can be embedded in sub-passports, public key aggregations with different cryptographic signatures, or server endpoint aggregations with different links.

[0378] Figure 16B Different passports are illustrated, including cascades associated with multiple decentralized identifiers based on relationships between different products linked to product stages in a chemical product value chain. In these passports, one passport is associated with a chemical product. In this particular example, a hash value is used for the cascades associated with multiple decentralized identifiers. Figure 16A The diagram illustrates the dataset used to generate the hash values.

[0379] An intermediate product passport can be provided to a chemical product producer that uses the intermediate product to produce a chemical product. The intermediate product passport can be linked to a chemical product passport that can be generated as described in the context of Figure 16A Hash 2, which can be generated as described in the context of

[0380] Similar to the intermediate product passport, a chemical product passport can be provided to an end consumer and / or a waste management facility. Hash values can be generated as described in the context of Figure 16A A hash value can be generated for a passport in a similar manner until a biodegradable product passport.

[0381] In an anchored configuration, a biodegradable product passport can include and relate to hash values associated with passports related to products (such as chemical products) until biodegradation in a waste management facility. In this case, a cascade associated with multiple decentralized identifiers can involve decentralized identifiers associated with raw materials, intermediate products, and chemical products. The cascade can be provided by hash data related to or included in respective passports. Data used for hash generation can include any data included in respective passports. A hash value “Hash 6” can be based at least on decentralized identifiers associated with passports and data related to biodegradable product data. Hash values “Hash 7” can be generated with respect to passports associated with products at different product stages as shown in Figure 16A A combined hash value “Hash 7” can be used by participant nodes of a chemical product value chain to determine relationships of products at different stages and to check integrity of such relationships. For example, an authority can assess whether a chemical product reached its end of life by biodegradation at a waste management facility.

[0382] As shown in Figure 16A and Figure 16B Hash values can be linked to passports associated with one or more product stages of a chemical product value chain.

[0383] Figure 17A A fully embedded configuration of different passports generated in a chemical product value chain is illustrated. For multiple product stages in a chemical product value chain, a single passport can be generated. Passport generation can include providing a decentralized identifier and data related to respective product data for each of the multiple product stages. Passport generation can also include providing an authentication mechanism. Passports for the multiple product stages can be based on cryptographic signatures. For example, passports for the multiple product stages can be cascaded by hash values based on different data sets. As shown in Figure 17BAs shown, hash 1 can be based on data of the raw material passport. Hash 2 can be based on data of the raw material passport and the intermediate product passport. Further concatenations of other combinations of passports up to hash 7 can be made, which concatenates the products up to the biodegradable product passport. The concatenation via cryptographic signed hashes is only one example concatenation. Other examples include a license aggregation with different data ranges that can be embedded in the sub-passports, a public key aggregation with different cryptographic signatures, or a service endpoint aggregation with different links.

[0384] Figure 17A Different passports are exemplified that include a concatenation associated with multiple decentralized identifiers based on a relationship representation of different products associated with product stages of a chemical product value chain. In the passports, one digital access element is associated with a chemical product. In this particular example, hash values are used for the concatenation associated with multiple decentralized identifiers. Figure 17A A data set used for generating hash values is shown schematically in

[0385] The intermediate product passport can be provided to a chemical product producer that uses the intermediate product to produce a chemical product. The intermediate product passport can be linked to the chemical product passport as described in the context of Figure 17A The hash value hash 2 can be generated as described in the context of Figure 17A The hash value can be generated as described in the context of

[0386] In a full embedding configuration, a combined hash value can be generated from the passports associated with all products before the respective product. In this case, the concatenation associated with multiple decentralized identifiers can involve the decentralized identifiers associated with all previous products, such as the raw material, the intermediate product, and the chemical product. The hash data related to or included in the respective passports can provide this concatenation. The data used for hash generation can include any data included in the respective passports. The hash value "hash 5" can be based on at least the decentralized identifiers associated with the products up to the chemical product passport, for example. The hash value hash 7 can be based on at least the decentralized identifiers associated with the products up to and including the chemical product at the waste management facility, for example. The combined hash values "hash 3", "hash 5", and "hash 7" can be used by the participant nodes of the chemical product value chain to determine the relationship of the different stages of products and to check the integrity of this relationship. As Figure 17A and Figure 17B As shown, hash values can be linked to passports associated with one or more product stages of a chemical product value chain.

[0387] Figures 15A-17BThe illustrated configuration relates to passports generated in the chemical product value chain up to the waste management facility. This way, the biodegradation of products involving chemical products can be virtually represented and tracked.

[0388] Figure 18A and Figure 18B Examples are illustrated that can be used to generate a relational representation of a cascade (e.g., the cascade described above with respect to Figures 15A-17B Examples are illustrated that can be used to generate a relational representation of a cascade (e.g., the cascade described above with respect to

[0389] The relational representation can relate to different stages of a chemical product value chain, such as the chemical product value chain described in the context of Figure 3 The passports of the different stages of the chemical product value chain can be connected to the relational representation. The relational representation can be associated with a product produced at the respective stage of the chemical product value chain and at least one product used to produce the respective product. The relational representation can be associated with a product produced at the respective stage of the chemical product value chain and at least one product produced at a previous stage of the chemical product value chain. The relational representation can specify a relationship between physical entities. The relational representation can specify that a second physical entity can be used to produce a first physical entity as Figure 18A indicated and / or that the first physical entity can be produced by using a second physical entity as Figure 18B indicated. The relational representation can relate to at least one intermediate product used to produce the chemical product. The relational representation can relate to the chemical product produced by using the at least one intermediate product.

[0390] Figure 19A Examples are illustrated how a chemical product, in particular a solid chemical product, can end up in different habitat conditions. Starting from disposal 100, the product can be discarded 102 by an end consumer. The discarding can happen in various habitats, in particular unintended habitats such as open water 104, soil 106, and ocean 108. In the example where the chemical product is a bottle, the bottle can be thrown into a river, into a forest, or into the ocean. The biodegradation does not only depend on the chemical product, but also on the microbial environment of the habitat. Thus, it can happen that a chemical product biodegrades to 100% in its intended habitat, but not completely in an unintended habitat.

[0391] Since discarding cannot be effectively controlled or prevented, it is important that the biodegradation data associated with a chemical product includes biodegradation data associated with possible unintended habitats that can be provided. This allows an authority to limit market access for chemical products that also biodegrade in unintended habitats. It is therefore beneficial if an authority has access to biodegradation data of a chemical product for unintended habitats. Methods and systems for ensuring data availability and controlling access are disclosed herein and are referred to as Figure 3-1 8These methods and systems are described in more detail.

[0392] To biodegrade an example bottle in an intended habitat, an end consumer places the bottle into a controlled waste handling workflow 110. The end consumer can indicate proper single use by accessing biodegradation data associated with the chemical product. Methods and systems for ensuring data availability and controlling access are disclosed herein and referenced Figure 3-1 8These methods and systems are described in more detail.

[0393] The chemical product can be disposed with a waste collector. The waste collector can then access biodegradation data associated with the chemical product. Based on the biodegradation data associated with the intended habitat 112, the waste collector can provide the chemical material to an appropriate waste management facility. The appropriate waste management facility can access the biodegradation data associated with the chemical product to retrieve processing instructions. The waste management facility can then follow the retrieved processing instructions to control biodegradation, here composting 114. Methods and systems for ensuring data availability and controlling access are disclosed herein and referenced Figure 3-1 8These methods and systems are described in more detail. Eventually, the chemical product can end as compost 116.

[0394] Figure 19B It is exemplified how a liquid chemical product such as a formulation, in particular a detergent or a personal care product, can end in different environments.

[0395] From use 200, the product can be discarded 202 by an end consumer, for example by using the chemical product in a wild animal. The discarding can happen in various habitats, in particular unintended habitats such as open water 204, soil 206 and ocean 208. Biodegradation not only depends on the chemical product, but also on the microbial environment of the habitat. It can thus happen that a chemical product biodegrades to 100% in its intended habitat, but not completely in an unintended habitat.

[0396] As discarding cannot be effectively controlled or prevented, it is important that the biodegradation data associated with the chemical product includes biodegradation data associated with possible unintended habitats that can be provided. This allows an authority to limit market access for chemical products that also biodegrade in unintended habitats. It is thus beneficial if an authority has access to biodegradation data of a chemical product for unintended habitats. Methods and systems for ensuring data availability and controlling access are disclosed herein and referenced Figure 3-1 8These methods and systems are described in more detail.

[0397] To biodegrade an example bottle in an intended habitat, an end consumer places the bottle into a controlled waste handling workflow 110. The end consumer can indicate proper single use by accessing biodegradation data associated with the chemical product. Methods and systems for ensuring data availability and controlling access are disclosed herein and referenced

[0398] In this example, the chemical product can be used such that it is collected in a controlled environment of a sewer and thus ends up in an intended habitat wastewater 212 that can be controlled by a waste management facility. Based on biodegradation data associated with the intended habitat 212. An appropriate waste management facility can access the biodegradation data associated with the chemical product to retrieve processing instructions. The waste management facility can then follow the retrieved processing instructions to control biodegradation in the wastewater. Methods and systems for ensuring data availability and controlling access are disclosed herein and reference is made to Figure 3-1 8These methods and systems are described in more detail. Ultimately, the chemical product can end up being diluted as a mineral in water 214.

[0399] The present disclosure has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments of the application. However, by studying the drawings, the disclosure, and the claims, one of ordinary skill in the art can understand and implement other variations of the claimed application. It is noted that, in particular, any steps presented can be performed in any order, i.e., the application is not limited to the specific order of the steps. Also, it is not required that different steps are performed in specific locations of a distributed system or on a specific computing node, i.e., each of the steps can be performed using different equipment / data processing units at different computing nodes.

[0400] In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “providing,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of’ and “consisting essentially of’ shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures, Section 2111.03. “Consisting essentially of’ shall mean including additional elements or steps that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed application. The only exception to this is that any element or step that is recited in a dependent claim as being “optional” or “optional” is an element or step that can be included in or excluded from the claimed application.

[0401] The present disclosure has also been described in connection with the preferred embodiments and examples. However, by studying the drawings, the disclosure, and the claims, one of ordinary skill in the art can understand and implement other variations of the claimed application.

[0402] Any steps presented herein can be performed in any order. The methods disclosed herein are not limited to the specific order of the steps. Also, it is not required that different steps are performed in specific locations of a distributed system or in specific computing nodes, i.e., each of the steps can be performed using different equipment / data processing at different computing nodes.

[0403] As used herein, “determining” also includes “initiating or causing a determination”, “generating” also includes “initiating and / or causing a generation”, and “providing” also includes “initiating or causing a determination, generation, selection, transmission, and / or reception”. “Initiating or causing an action to be performed” includes any processing signal that triggers a computing node or device to perform the respective action.

[0404] All terms and definitions used herein should be construed broadly and have their ordinary meaning.

Claims

1. An apparatus for generating a chemical product passport, the apparatus comprising: One or more computing nodes; and one or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions that are structured such that, when executed by the one or more computing nodes, the device performs the following steps: - Receive requests for a decentralized identifier associated with biodegradation data, which is linked to the biodegradation properties of a chemical product and the data owner. - In response to the request, generate a chemical product passport including a decentralized identifier and data associated with the biodegradation data, which is related to the biodegradation properties of the chemical product; - Provide the chemical product passport for data consumption service access that is controlled by or associated with the data owner.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the decentralized identifier is provided to the node generating the chemical product passport and at least one authentication data registry, preferably accessible by the data service and / or the data consumption service.

3. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the generation of the chemical product passport includes providing the decentralized identifier associated with the physical entity of the chemical product.

4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the chemical product passport includes one or more authentication mechanisms, the one or more authentication mechanisms being associated with the decentralized identifier related to the biodegradation data and the data.

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the chemical product passport is associated with one or more authorization mechanisms, the one or more authorization mechanisms being associated with the decentralized identifier and the data related to the biodegradation data.

6. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the chemical product passport is associated with data related to different types of biodegradation data.

7. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the chemical product passport is associated with at least one type of biodegradation data, the at least one type of biodegradation data including data related to the habitat for biodegradation of the chemical product and / or data and / or formulation data associated with biodegradation testing and / or treatment instructions.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the data associated with the biodegradation test is associated with a standardized test.

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 7 or 8, wherein the biodegradation data includes data related to the habitat for the biodegradation of the chemical product, including data associated with the microbial community of the habitat.

10. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the biodegradation data is associated with microplastic data, the microplastic data being associated with the amount of microplastics introduced into the habitat through biodegradation.

11. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the formulation data includes control data for controlling the production of chemical products based on chemical materials.

12. A computer-implemented method for generating a chemical product passport, the method comprising the following steps: - Receive a request for a decentralized identifier associated with biodegradation data, which is linked to the biodegradation properties of the chemical product and the data owner. - In response to the request, generate a chemical product passport including a decentralized identifier and data associated with the biodegradable data, which is related to the biodegradable properties of the biodegradable chemical product; - Provide the chemical product passport for data consumption service access that is controlled by or associated with the data owner.

13. Use of the chemical product passport generated by the method of claim 11 or the apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 10, for obtaining formulation data of the chemical product passport to control the production of a chemical final product from the chemical product based on determined formulation data of the chemical product associated with the chemical product passport.

14. Use of the chemical product passport generated by the method of claim 11, including controlling waste management facilities based on the biodegradation data associated with the biodegradable properties of the biodegradable chemical product and with the intended habitat.

15. A biodegradable chemical product associated with the chemical product passport, wherein the chemical product passport, comprising the decentralized identifier and data associated with the biodegradable data, is generated by the method of claim 12 or by the apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 11.

16. The biodegradable chemical product according to claim 15, wherein the biodegradable chemical product is a biodegradable polymer.

17. A chemical product passport, the chemical product passport including the decentralized identifier and data associated with the biodegradation data, wherein the chemical product passport is generated by the method of claim 12 or by the apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 11.

18. A computer element having instructions that, when executed on one or more computing nodes, are configured to perform the steps of the method according to claim 12 or by means of any one of claims 1 to 11.

Images