Biodegradation of polyethylene and polystyrene: From microbial deterioration to enzyme discovery

The global production of plastics has continuously been soaring over the last decades due to their extensive use in our daily life and in industries. Although synthetic plastics offer great advantages from packaging to construction and electronics, their low biodegradability induce serious plastic pollution that damage the environment, human health and make irreversible changes in the ecological cycle. In particular, plastics containing only carbon-carbon (C-C) backbone are less susceptible to degradation due to the lack of hydrolysable groups. The representative polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS) account for about 40% of the total plastic production. Various chemical and biological processes with great…

• AU
  Aarhus Universitet

  Award: AUFF-E-2015-FLS-9-12
• AU
  Aarhus Universitets Forskningsfond

  Award: AUFF-E-2015-FLS-9-12
• NN
  Novo Nordisk

  Award: NNF16OC0021740
• NN
  Novo Nordisk Fonden

  Awards: NNF16OC0021740, NNF20OC0064799