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Isolation of Native Soil Microorganisms with Potential for Breaking Down Biodegradable Plastic Mulch Films Used in Agriculture
Published on: May 10, 2013
Biotechnology-based microbial degradation of plastic additives
Rob T Lumio1, Mario A Tan2,3, Hilbert D Magpantay1
1Chemistry Department, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, 0922 Manila, Philippines.
Abstract:
Plastic additives are agents responsible to the flame resistance, durability, microbial resistance, and flexibility of plastic products. High demand for production and use of plastic additives is associated with environmental accumulation and various health hazards. One of the suitable methods of depleting plastic additive in the environment is bioremediation as it offers cost-efficiency, convenience, and sustainability. Microbial activity is one of the effective ways of detoxifying various compounds as microorganisms can adapt in an environment with high prevalence of pollutants. The present review discusses the use and abundance of these plastic additives, their health-related risks, the microorganisms capable of degrading them, the proposed mechanism of biodegradation, and current innovations capable of improving the efficiency of bioremediation.
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Types of Step-Growth Polymers: Polyesters
Polyesters are commonly prepared from terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; the crude product is known as poly(ethylene terephthalate) or PET. However, polyesters are synthesized industrially by transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol at 150 °C. The two reactants and the...

