(473k) Production of Macronutrients from Hybrid Thermal and Biochemical Conversion of Waste Plastic

Although plastics are thought not to be biodegradable, plastics are actually broken down very slowly by microorganisms in the environment. To improve upon the long time-scales of plastic degradation, the natural abiotic and biotic processes that synergistically decompose plastics can be accelerated. Using thermal oxo-degradation, abiotic deconstruction becomes rapid as polymer backbones are cracked while adding oxygen functionality to fragmented products. A mixture of hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, and carboxylic acids are produced from polyolefins subjected to moderate temperatures in an oxidative environment. The added oxygen functionality dramatically expedites yeast metabolism of the degraded plastic without supplemental carbon, as growth of yeast is observed in 48 hours. As yeasts use the degraded plastic as a carbon source on which to grow, a pathway to breakdown waste plastic for biological upgrading to macronutrients in the form of microbial biomass is possible.