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Consequences of Microbial Interactions with Hydrocarbons, Oils, and Lipids: Biodegradation and Bioremediation pp 1–29Cite as

Plastic Biodegradation: Challenges and Opportunities

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology ((HHLM))

Abstract

Plastics are extremely useful materials that have transformed our society in a myriad of ways. However, the widespread use of these materials has led to a staggering amount of plastic pollution in man-made and natural environments. The biodegradation of plastics is a key factor to reduce the impact of this plastic pollution. On the one hand, organisms are emerging that can degrade relatively recalcitrant plastics. On the other hand, biodegradable plastics are being developed that are intrinsically more amenable to microbial attack. In this chapter we provide an overview of the natural fates of these two types of plastics, the molecular bonds that occur in them, and the enzymatic activities associated with their degradation. Finally, an outlook is provided for the biotechnological utilization of plastics waste as a substrate, either using these enzymes or through thermochemical pretreatment.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    mcl-PHA monomer composition: C6:C8:C10:C12:C14:C16 = 6.9:58.4:26.7:6.5:1:0.5.

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Acknowledgement

The authors have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 633962 for the project P4SB.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Applied Microbiology (iAMB), RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

    Nick Wierckx, Hendrik Ballerstedt & Lars M. Blank

  2. UCD Earth Institute and School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland

    Tanja Narancic & Kevin E. O’Connor

  3. Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig, Germany

    Christian Eberlein & Hermann J. Heipieper

  4. Department of Microbiology and Bioprocess Technology, Institute of Biochemistry, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany

    Ren Wei & Wolfgang Zimmermann

  5. Biological Research Center (CIB-CSIC), Madrid, Spain

    Oliver Drzyzga & Auxiliadora Prieto

  6. BioTeam/ICPEES-ECPM, UMR CNRS 7515, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France

    Audrey Magnin, Eric Pollet & Luc Avérous

  7. Bioplastech Ltd., Nova UCD, Belfield Innovation Park, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland

    Shane T. Kenny

  8. BEACON – Bioeconomy Research Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland

    Kevin E. O’Connor

  9. Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom

    José Jiménez

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    Robert Steffan

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Wierckx, N. et al. (2018). Plastic Biodegradation: Challenges and Opportunities. In: Steffan, R. (eds) Consequences of Microbial Interactions with Hydrocarbons, Oils, and Lipids: Biodegradation and Bioremediation. Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44535-9_23-1

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