Naslov
Microbial degradation of plastic waste in marine environment

Autori
Vuković Domanovac, Marija ; Findrik Blažević, Zvjezdana ; Domanovac, Tomislav

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
VI. hrvatski simpozij o kemiji i tehnologiji makromolekula, Knjiga sažetaka / Erceg, Matko - : Hrvatsko društvo kemijskih inženjera i tehnologa (HDKI), 2017, 18-18

ISBN
978-953-6894-61-1

Skup
VI. hrvatski simpozij o kemiji i tehnologiji makromolekula

Mjesto i datum
Split, Hrvatska, 15.09.2017

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Domaća recenzija

Ključne riječi
biodegradation, plastic waste, marine environment

Sažetak
A plastic waste in the marine ecosystem has become one of the major problems for the modern environmentalist. It is estimated that about 100, 000 marine mammals are killed due to plastic debris around the world. It occurs because the floating plastic debris is often mistaken as food, causing blockage in the digestive system of the animals. Recent estimates indicate that there are more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic in sediment or floating at or near the surface of the world’s oceans, and that the majority of this pollution is microplastic [1]. In marine environments, microorganisms function as pioneering surface colonizers and drive critical ecosystem processes including primary production, biogeochemical cycling and the biodegradation of anthropogenic pollutants. The biodegradation of plastic is a complex phenomenon. The degree of polymer biodegradation in natural ecosystems is affected by several factors, such as the nature of the substrate to be degraded and by environmental and microbiological factors. To date, most of the knowledge on the microbial ability to degrade synthetic polymers is based on few microbes. The great natural source of high diversity of microorganisms is not fully exploited [2], [3]. Low cost, efficient technology, eco-friendly treatments capable of reducing and even eliminating plastics, are of great environmental interest. Among biological agents, microbial enzymes are one of the most powerful tools for the biodegradation of plastic. Microbial degradation is a new concept in which live microorganisms are used, which produces some biologically active enzymes to degrade the long polymers, and further, these microorganisms use these polymers as carbon and energy sources.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Kemijsko inženjerstvo

POVEZANOST RADA