Biodegradability of Plastics

• Main Authors: Yutaka Tokiwa, Buenaventurada P. Calabia, Charles U. Ugwu, Seiichi Aiba
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2009-08-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: aliphatic polyesters; bio-based plastics; biodegradability; enzymatic degradation; microbial degradation
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/10/9/3722/

Plastic is a broad name given to different polymers with high molecular weight, which can be degraded by various processes. However, considering their abundance in the environment and their specificity in attacking plastics, biodegradation of plastics by microorganisms and enzymes seems to be the most effective process. When plastics are used as substrates for microorganisms, evaluation of their biodegradability should not only be based on their chemical structure, but also on their physical properties (melting point, glass transition temperature, crystallinity, storage modulus etc.). In this review, microbial and enzymatic biodegradation of plastics and some factors that affect their biodegradability are discussed.