Microbial enzymes for the recycling of recalcitrant petroleum‐based plastics: how far are we?

نویسندگان

  • Ren Wei
  • Wolfgang Zimmermann
چکیده

Petroleum-based plastics have replaced many natural materials in their former applications. With their excellent properties, they have found widespread uses in almost every area of human life. However, the high recalcitrance of many synthetic plastics results in their long persistence in the environment, and the growing amount of plastic waste ending up in landfills and in the oceans has become a global concern. In recent years, a number of microbial enzymes capable of modifying or degrading recalcitrant synthetic polymers have been identified. They are emerging as candidates for the development of biocatalytic plastic recycling processes, by which valuable raw materials can be recovered in an environmentally sustainable way. This review is focused on microbial biocatalysts involved in the degradation of the synthetic plastics polyethylene, polystyrene, polyurethane and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Recent progress in the application of polyester hydrolases for the recovery of PET building blocks and challenges for the application of these enzymes in alternative plastic waste recycling processes will be discussed.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Biodegradation of polyurethane: a review

Lack of degradability and the closing of land)ll sites as well as growing water and land pollution problems have led to concern about plastics. Increasingly, raw materials such as crude oil are in short supply for the synthesis of plastics, and the recycling of waste plastics is becoming more important. As the importance of recycling increases, so do studies on elucidation of the biodegradabili...

متن کامل

Synthesis and characterization of the electrospun fibers prepared from waste polymeric materials

Recently, the demands for the production of many different types of plastic wastes are greatly growing that subsequently, lead to the serious challenges in environmental considerations. Since, these materials are rarely resolved by microorganisms, hence, their recycling to the useful materials is crucial. In the present study, we used a solution electrospinning technique to synthesize nano/micr...

متن کامل

Synthesis and characterization of the electrospun fibers prepared from waste polymeric materials

Recently, the demands for the production of many different types of plastic wastes are greatly growing that subsequently, lead to the serious challenges in environmental considerations. Since, these materials are rarely resolved by microorganisms, hence, their recycling to the useful materials is crucial. In the present study, we used a solution electrospinning technique to synthesize nano/micr...

متن کامل

Process Design and Evaluation of Biobased Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) Production

Conventional plastic products are made of crude oil components through polymerization. Aim of the project ANIMPOL is to convert lipids into polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) which constitute a group of biobased and biodegradable polyesters. Replacing fossil based plastics with biobased alternatives can help reducing dependence on crude oil and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. As substrate material ...

متن کامل

To be, or not to be biodegradable… that is the question for the bio‐based plastics

Global warming, market and production capacity are being the key drivers for selecting the main players for the next decades in the market of bio-based plastics. The drop-in bio-based polymers such as the bio-based polyethylene terephtalate (PET) or polyethylene (PE), chemically identical to their petrochemical counterparts but having a component of biological origin, are in the top of the list...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره 10  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2017