(385ap) Carbon-Efficient Upcycling of Plastic Wastes to Biodegradable Polymers Enabled By CO2 Plasma

This work aims at upcyling of plastic wastes into polyhydroxyalkanoic acids (PHAs) enabled by CO₂ plasma-assisted oxidative plastic deconstruction. It provides a viable solution by supplying plastic-derived substrates for microbial utilization due to significantly reduced molecular weight and various oxygen-containing functionalities (e.g., organic acids, fatty alcohols). Pseudomonas strains are used to convert plastic deconstruction intermediates to synthesize medium chain length PHAs (mcl-PHAs). The plastic-derived substrates contain no inhibitory compounds and well support microbial growth and PHA accumulation. Carbon conversion efficiency is also significantly improved by optimizing operating parameters (e.g., pH, aeration, and feeding strategy) as well as involving sequestering CO₂ generated from fermentation.