An Investigation of the Conversion of Waste Polyethylene Terephthalate to the Biodegradable Polymer Polyhydroxyalkanoate
Summary: STRIVE Report 77- Shane T. Kenny, Jasmina Nikodinovic Runic and Kevin O’Connor
This report details the work carried out in the development of a biotechnological process for the conversion of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles into biodegradable plastic (project 2005-ET-LS-9-M3). Plastic waste is and will continue to be a major problem for Irish society as a whole. Our need to reduce the amounts of waste produced is of utmost importance; however, due to the quick pace of modern society, plastic waste will be a burning issue for the foreseeable future. In tackling the problem of waste plastic, there is an opportunity to develop innovative ways to deal with excess waste that is not currently reused or recycled but incinerated or dumped. The goal of this project was to try to develop a technology that could take plastic waste, namely PET (which is most commonly associated with plastic drink bottles), and convert it into a new biodegradable polymer.
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