The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the biodegradability of the four cellulose fabrics (cotton

modal

bamboo and tencel) in laboratory and large scale composting environments.Three methods:ASTMD 5988-03

enzymatic hydrolysis and composting were used.Under controlled laboratory conditions

the carbon dioxide produced was monitored and integrated to determine the biodegradation rate by ASTM D 5988-03 method in natural soil

and the weight losses were measured after biodegradation in enzyme solutions.The same set of fabrics was buried in the composting facility for 90 days.The weight losses and the fabric morphology changes after degradation were used to assess and compare the biodegradability with the results obtained under laboratory conditions.IR spectra were used to analysis the structure of the cellulose fabrics before and after biodegradation in different methods.The morphologies of the cellulose fabrics before and after degradation were observed by SEM.The results showed that all competing man-made cellulose fabrics (modal

bamboo and tencel) showed faster degradation rates than the natural cotton fabric.Bamboo fabric showed a significantly faster degradation rate than other cellulose fabrics in the three degradation methods

especially in composting method the bamboo fabric completely destroyed.Combining with IR analysis

it was confirmed that all the cellulose samples had an accelerated degradation rate in the compost environment which contained more multiple organisms and enzymes than under the laboratory conditions.