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 ARE WE TOO FAR FROM RECYCLING?

ABSTRACT

Plastics are one of the backbones of environmental pollution. Factors like hydrophobic nature and crystalline nature and size of the polymer resist biodegradation. Chemicals used to degrade nonbiodegradable plastics cause pollution in terrestrial as well as marine ecosystems. Biodegradable plastics take a shorter time to be degraded. However, these plastics also cause environmental damages and take some time to get completely degraded by biotic and abiotic factors. Researchers find that numerous microbial enzymes are capable of degrading fragments of biodegradable polymers through bio-catalysis.

INVOLVEMENT OF BIODEGRADING ENZYMES OF THE MICROORGANISMS

Polymers are nonbiodegradable due to their nonhydrolyzable groups attached. MnP from white-rot fungi Phanerochaete chrysosporeum ME-446 and the isolate IZU-154 are the main enzymes of biodegradation of PE.

Alkane hydroxylases act as biocatalytic degradation of hydrocarbons by the terminal or subterminal oxidation.

 

 


 

 

THE FUTURE OF POLYMER DEGRADATION

The best solution to the plastic waste problem can be the chemical materials that help in the production of virgin polymers in the closed-loop recycling process. But now the most challenging part is the discovery of microbial polyester hydrolases.

IMPORTANCE OF MICROBIAL ENZYME IN DEGRADATION OF POLYMERS

Polyurethane is a di-or polyisocyanate polymer. Crystalline pieces, aromatic esters influence the biodegradation and esterases, proteases hydrolyse the ester bonds of PUR. Incubation of polyester with polyamides from Nocardia farcinica, that is fused with hydrophobic polymer binding module of the polyhydroxyalkanoate depolymerase from Alcaligenes faecalis. A membrane-bound esterase of Delftia acidovorans is essential for microorganisms for its initial hydrolysis. Polyethylene terephthalate is a polymer with low degradability because of repeating aromatic units in the backbone. Some lipases, esterases and cutinases from fungal Actinomycetes species hydrolyse amorphous PET. Carboxylesterases from Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus subtilis and Thermobifida fusca partially hydrolyze PET fibre. Lipase’s activity slows down against PET. Thermostable cutinase HiC from Thermomyces insolens is the most active fungal polyester hydrolases to date. 

 

                                                                 POULAMI DAS, SRIJONI BHATTACHARJEE

 


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