Biodegradability of Plastics
Open Access
- 26 August 2009
- journal article
- review article
- Published by MDPI AG in International Journal of Molecular Sciences
- Vol. 10 (9), 3722-3742
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms10093722
Abstract
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.Keywords
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