New insights into the microbial degradation of polyurethanes

Abstract

Frequent and frequently deliberate release of plastics leads to accumulation of plastic waste in the environment which is an ever increasing ecological threat. Plastic waste represents 20–30% of the total volume of solid waste contained in landfills because in addition to the large amount of waste generated, plastic waste is recalcitrant and remains deposited in these landfills for long periods of time. Paradoxically, the most preferred property of plastics – durability – exerts also the major environmental threat. Polyurethanes (PU) represent a class of polymers that have found widespread use in medical, automotive and industrial fields. The wide use of PUs in our society makes their biodegradation of equal importance to their manufacturing. The balance between creating stable polymers that resist degradation and minimize their potential long-term environmental impact continues to be one of the major issues with the general use of these materials. Despite their microbial resistance, they are susceptible to the attack of fungi and bacteria. Currently, as environmental concerns have become so significant great effort needs to be made to degrade these plastics under environmentally benign conditions. In the present report we seek to highlight the efforts made in the last few years for the degradation of polyurethanes using microorganisms or enzymes.