review of biodegradation of synthetic plastic and foams

Synthetic polymeric foams have pervaded every aspect of modern life. Although foams provide numerous benefits, they also cause a significant environmental litter problem because of their recalcitrant and xenobiotic nature. Biodegradation may provide solution to the problem, but not enough is known a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied biochemistry and biotechnology 2007-04, Vol.141 (1), p.85-108
Main Authors: Gautam, R, Bassi, A.S, Yanful, E.K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacteria - metabolism
Biodegradation
Biodegradation, Environmental
Foams
Fungi - metabolism
Gases - chemistry
Gases - metabolism
literature reviews
Plastic foam
Plastic foams
Plastics
Plastics - chemistry
Plastics - metabolism
Polymers
Synthetic products
waste treatment
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Summary:Synthetic polymeric foams have pervaded every aspect of modern life. Although foams provide numerous benefits, they also cause a significant environmental litter problem because of their recalcitrant and xenobiotic nature. Biodegradation may provide solution to the problem, but not enough is known about the biodegradation process of synthetic plastic and plastic-based foams. This review has been written to provide an overview of the current state of plastic foam biodegradation. Several biodegradation pathways of a few select synthetic polymers are also presented along with a discussion on some of the physico-chemical factors that can influence the biodegradation of plastic foams.
ISSN:0273-2289
1559-0291
DOI:10.1007/s12010-007-9212-6