Indian Journal of Biotechnology

Vol. 4, April 2005, pp 186-193

Biodegradation of polymers
Premraj R
1
and Mukesh Doble
2
*
1
Centre for Biotechnology, Anna University, Chennai 600 025, India
2
Departmemt of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai 600 036, India
Received 9 January 2004; revised 14 May 2004; accepted 25 May 2004
Exhaustive studies on the degradation of plastics have been carried out in order to overcome the environmental problems
associated with synthetic plastic waste. Recent work has included studies of the distribution of synthetic polymer-degrading
microorganisms in the environment, the isolation of new microorganisms for biodegradation, the discovery of new degra-
dation enzymes, and the cloning of genes for synthetic polymer-degrading enzymes. Under ambient conditions, polymers
are known to undergo degradation, which results in the deterioration of polymer properties, characterized by change in its
molecular weight and other physical properties. In this paper mainly the biodegradation of synthetic polymers such as
polyethers, polyesters, polycaprolactones, polylactides, polylactic acid, polyurethane, PVA, nylon, polycarbonate,
polyimide, polyacrylamide, polyamide, PTFE and ABS have been reviewed. Pseudomonas species degrade polyethers,
polyesters, PVA, polyimides and PUR effectively. No microorganism has been found to degrade polyethylene without
additives such as starch. None of the biodegradable techniques has become mature enough to become a technology yet.
Keywords: biodegradation, polymer, biodegradable polymers
IPC Code: Int. Cl.
7
A01N63/04; C08C; C08F10/02, 12/08, 18/08, 114/26, 120/56; C08G18/00, 63/00, 64/00, 65/00, 69/00,
69/14, 73/10
Introduction
Approximately 140 million tonnes of synthetic
polymers are produced worldwide every year. Since
polymers are extremely stable, their degradation
cycles in the biosphere are limited. In Western Europe
alone it is estimated that 7.4% of municipal solid
wastes are plastic, which are classified as 65%
polyethylene/polypropylene, 15% polystyrene, 10%
PVC, 5% polyethylene terephthalate and remaining
others. Environmental pollution by synthetic
polymers, such as waste plastics and water-soluble
synthetic polymers in wastewater has been recognized
as a major problem. In view of this, energetic,
chemical and biological polymer-degrading
techniques have been studied extensively during the
last three decades. The energetic agencies can be
either thermal or radiant. The radiant energy may be
high-energy radiation like gamma rays, ion beams,
and electrons or even low energy radiation like ultra-
violet (UV) rays. Chemical degradation is caused
using certain chemicals like acids and alkalis, etc.
Usage of certain microorganisms and enzymes to
degrade polymers are classified as the biodegradation
method of polymers.
Some types of plastics have been shown to be
biodegradable, and their degradation mechanisms
have progressively become clearer. Very small
variations in the chemical structures of polymer could
lead to large changes in their biodegradability. The
biodegradability depends on the molecular weight,
molecular form and crystallinity. It decreases with
increase in molecular weight, while monomers,
dimers and repeating units degrade easily. Two
categories of enzymes are involved in the process,
namely extracelluar and intracellular depolymerases.
Exoenzymes from the microorganisms first
breakdown the complex polymers giving short chains
that are small enough to permeate through the cell
walls to be utilized as carbon and energy sources. The
process is called depolymerization. When the end
products are carbon dioxide, water or methane, the
process is called mineralization. Different end
products are formed depending upon the degradation
pathway as shown in Fig. 1.

Polyethers
Polyethylene glycols (PEGs), polypropylene
glycols (PPGs) and polytetramethylene glycols come
under the class of polyethers and are used in
pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, lubricants, inks, and
surfactants. Flavobacterium sp. and Pseudomonas sp.
together associate and mineralize PEGs completely
___________
*Author for correspondence
Tel: 91-44-22578243
E-mail: [email protected]
PREMRAJ & DOBLE: BIODEGRADATION OF POLYMERS


187
under aerobic conditions
1
. During degradation, the
PEG molecules are reduced by one glycol unit at a
time after each oxidation cycle. Pelobacter venetianus
was found to degrade PEG and ethylene glycol under
anaerobic conditions
2
.

Polyesters
Polyesters are polymers in which component
monomers are bonded via ester linkages. Many kinds
of esters occur in nature and the esterase enzymes that
degrade them are ubiquitous in living organisms.
Ester linkages are generally easy to hydrolyze and
hence a number of synthetic polyesters are
biodegradable. Therefore, bacterial polyesters
(polyhydroxyalkanoates) have been used to make
biodegradable plastics. Several polyesters are
produced on a semi-commercial scale by a number of
companies that make biodegradable plastics.
Hydrolytic cleavage of the ester bond in the low
molecular weight polyester by the lipase of
Pseudomonas species has been reported.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates
Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a naturally occurring
polyester that accumulates in bacterial cells as a
carbon and energy storage compound. PHB and
copolymers containing polyhydroxyalkanoate, PHA
(for example 3-hydroxyvalerate) are being used for
the manufacture of biodegradable plastics. Several
PHA and PHB bacterial depolymerases are found to
be capable of metabolizing PHB and other PHA
polymers. The PHA depolymerases are serine
hydrolases usually having single substrate-binding
domain. Recently, a PHB depolymerase with two
substrate-binding domain has been reported. The
presence of two substrate-binding domain enlarges
substrate specificity or enhances adsorption of the
enzyme. PHB depolymerases are able to degrade all-
(R) chains, cyclic-(R) oligomers, oligolides, and
polymers composed of racemic hydroxybutanoate.
The enzymes are generally obtained from the
microorganisms like Alcaligenes faecalis and
Pseudomonas stutzeri
3
.
In order to modify physical properties and retard
enzymatic degradation of commercial microbial
polyesters like PHA, they are blended with other
degradable or non-degradable polymers such as PVA,
PMMA, poly (ethylene oxide), PLA, cellulose, PCL,
and polystyrene (PS).
Atactic P (R,S-3HB) [atactic poly (R,S-3-hydroxy-
butyrate)], which does not biodegrade in pure form
can undergo enzymatic hydrolysis in a P(R,S-
3HB)/PMMA (poly methacrylate) blend, indicating
that the enzymatic degradation can be induced by
blending with an amorphous non-biodegradable
polymer. This is possible because the blend gives
P (R-3HB) depolmerase more stable binding surface
than that provided by the rubbery a-P (R,S-3HB). The
depolymerase was purified from A. faecalis
4
.

Polylcaprolactone
Polylcaprolactone (PCL) is a synthetic polyester
that can be degraded by microorganisms and enzymes
like lipases and esterases. Cutinases, which are
obtained from fungal phytopathogens, degrade cutin
(the structural polymer of the plant cuticle) and act as
PCL depolymerases. The chemical structure of a PCL
trimer is similar to that of two cutin monomers, which
are inducers of cutinase activity. This knowledge that
cutinase can act as a PCL depolymerase has helped in
identifying a new system to degrade PCL.
The biodegradability of PCL in the form of
blend sheets (for example in polycarbonate-
polycaprolactone blend sheets) is much reduced
because the packed form of the PCL in the blend
sheets protects it from enzymatic digestion
5
.
However, the enzymatic degradation can be promoted
by means of surface etching by oxygen plasma
treatments
6
.

Poly-L-lactide
Poly-L-lactide (PLLA) is a lactic acid-based
aliphatic polyester, which is used in medical and
packaging applications. It can be degraded both in
aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Under thermophylic
conditions the latter is faster than the former, probably
because lactic acid is more favourable for the
anaerobic microorganisms than for aerobic
organisms
7
. PLLA is also found to degrade


Fig. 1Reaction pathways during biodegradation of polymers

INDIAN J BIOTECHNOL, APRIL 2005


188
completely in two weeks in windrow composting.
Polylactic Acid
Polylactic acid (PLA) is found absorbed in animals
and humans and hence has been extensively used in
medicines. The degradation of the polymer in animals
and humans is thought to proceed via non-enzymatic
hydrolysis. Several enzymes can degrade the polymer
which include proteinase K, pronase and bromelain.
However, few have been characterized with regards to
microbial degradation of the polymer
3
. PLA is also
readily degraded in compost.
14
C-labelled PLA was
mineralized in compost to CO
2
(about 90%
degradation was achieved in 90 days). The
contribution of microorganisms to this degradation is
still not found. Actinomycete, a PLA degrading strain,
reduced 100 mg of PLA film by 60% in the first 14
days in liquid culture at 303 K. Bacillus brevis is also
found to degrade 50 mg of PCL by around 20% in 20
days in liquid culture at 333 K.

Poly (p-dioxanone)
Poly (p-dioxanone) (PPDO) is known as a poly
ether-ester and has good tensile strength and
flexibility. It is used for bioabsorbable sutures in
clinical applications. PPDO is found to be degraded
by strains that belong to the and subdivision of
the class Proteobacteria and the class Actinobacteria.
Degrdation leads to the formation of monomeric
acids
8
.

Polyurethane
Polyurethane (PUR) produced by the diisocyanate
poly addition process is the characteristic chain link
of urethane bond (Fig. 2). Growth of microorganisms
could not be supported by PUR and so the
biodegradation was also found incomplete. PUR
degradation proceeded in a selective manner, with the
amorphous regions being degraded prior to the
crystalline regions. Also, PURs with long repeating
units and hydrolytic groups would be less likely to
pack into high crystalline regions as normal
polyurethane, and these polymers were more
accessible to biodegradation.

Biodegradation of PUR
The PUR depolymerases of the microorganisms
have not been examined in detail, although due to the
presence of ester linkage most degradation is carried
out by esterases. Comamonas acidovorans TB-35
utilizes a polyester PUR containing polydiethyl-
eneglycol adipate as the sole source of carbon but not
the polyether PUR. C. acidovorans can completely
degrade 50 mg of PUR dissolved in mineral salt
medium at 303 K. The products of degradation were
adipic acid and diethylene glycol. Absence of any
metabolites confirms that urethane linkage is not
cleaved.
The degradation of PUR is inhibited by the
presence of a detergent that does not inhibit the
hydrolysis of a water-soluble ester compound,
suggesting that degradation proceeds via a two-step
mechanism namely,

1. Hydrophobic adsorption to the polymer surface,
followed by
2. Hydrolysis of the ester bond of PUR.

The gene cloned for the PUR degrading enzyme
encodes a protein of 548 amino acid residues. The
deduced protein sequence contains a signal sequence,
the lipase box and catalytic triad, and three
hydrophobic domains, which play role in the
hydrophobic adsorption of the enzyme to the polymer
surface. It was found that two proteolytic enzymes,
papain and urease degraded medical polyester PUR
9
.
Bacteria like Corynebacterium sp. and Pseudomonas
aeruginosa could degrade PUR in the presence of
basal media
10
. However, none of the isolates grew on
PUR alone. Physical tests of the degraded polyester
PUR revealed marked decrease in tensile strength and
elongation for each isolate. Several fungi are observed
to grow on PUR surfaces and especially Curvularia
senegalensis was observed to have a higher PUR-
degrading activity.
Although cross-linking was considered to inhibit
degradation, papain was found to diffuse through the
film and break the structural integrity by hydrolyzing
the urethane and urea linkage producing free amine
and hydroxyl group. Polyester PUR degradation by
porcine pancreatic elastase was ten times faster than
its activity against polyether PUR.

Polyvinyl Alcohol
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a vinyl polymer joined
by only carbon-carbon linkages. The linkage is the
same as those of typical plastics, such as
polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene, and

Fig. 2Structure of polyurethane

PREMRAJ & DOBLE: BIODEGRADATION OF POLYMERS


189
water-soluble polymers, such as polyacrylamide and
polyacrylic acid. Among the vinyl polymers produced
industrially, PVA is the only one known to be
mineralized by microorganisms. PVA is water-soluble
and biodegradable and hence, used to make water-
soluble and biodegradable carriers, which may be
useful in the manufacture of delivery systems for
chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides and
herbicides.
PVA is completely degraded and utilized by a
bacterial strain, Pseudomonas O-3, as a sole source of
carbon and energy. However, PVA-degrading
microorganisms are not ubiquitous within the
environment. Almost all of the degrading strains
belong to the genus Pseudomonas although some do
belong to other genera
11
. Generally, the carbon-carbon
linkage of PVA is degraded either by the enzymes
dehydrogenase or oxidase, which is further degraded
by the action of hydrolase or aldolase to form simple
compounds.
Amongst the PVA-degrading bacteria reported so
far, a few strains showed no requirement for
pyroloquinoline quinone (PQQ). From a PVA-
utilizing mixed culture, Pseudomonas sp. VM15C and
P. putida VM15A were isolated. Their symbiosis is
based on a syntrophic interaction. VM15C is a PVA-
degrading strain that degrades and metabolizes PVA,
while VM15A excretes a growth factor that VM15C
requires for PVA utilization (Fig. 3).
Although the PQQ supplier, VM15A does not
degrade or utilize PVA directly in the symbiotic
mixed culture. It is thought to utilize some
unidentified metabolites excreted from the VM15C
cells growing on PVA. Thus, if PQQ growth factor is
added to the medium, the PVA-degrading strain can
grow on PVA in a pure culture. In the natural
environment, however, in which PVA-degrading
bacteria depend on other strains for PQQ, the amount
excreted by other bacteria is a critical factor for PVA
degradation. It has also been observed that a
concentration of 10g/l of PQQ is sufficient for the
strain to grow at maximum rate.

Nylon
High molecular weight nylon-66 membrane was
degraded significantly by lignin degrading white rot
fungi grown under ligninolytic conditions with
limited glucose or ammonium tartrate
12
. The
characteristics of a nylon-degrading enzyme purified
from a culture supernatant of white rot fungal strain
IZU-154 were identical to those of manganese
peroxidase, but the reaction mechanism for nylon
degradation differed significantly from manganese
peroxidase. The enzyme could also degrade nylon-6
fibres. The nylon was degraded to soluble oligomers
by drastic and regular erosion.
A thermophilic strain capable of degrading nylon
12 was isolated from 100 soil samples by enrichment
culture technique at 60C. At this temperature, the
strain not only grew on nylon 12, but also reduced the
molecular weight of the polymer. The strain was
identified as a neighbouring species to Bacillus
pallidus. It has an optimum growth temperature of
around 60C and was also found to degrade nylon 6
as well as nylon 12, but not nylon-66
13
.

Polyethylene
Polyethylenes of low density are used widely as
films in packaging industry. They pose serious
problem with respect to biodegradability because of
their slow rate of degradation under natural


Fig. 3PVA biodegradation pathway
INDIAN J BIOTECHNOL, APRIL 2005


190
conditions. They also pose problems to the
environment, fresh water and animals. Extracellular
Streptomyces sp. cultures were found to degrade
starch blended PE.
Phanerochaete chrysosporium has also been found
to degrade starch blended LDPE in soil. A decrease of
more than 50% reduction in elongation was observed
when the soil is inoculated with the organism as
against a decrease of only 12% with uninoculated soil
system
14
.
High molecular weight polyethylene is also
degraded by lignin-degrading fungi under nitrogen-
limited or carbon-limited conditions, and by
manganese peroxidase. Fungi like Mucor rouxii
NRRL 1835 and Aspergillius flavus and several
strains of Streptomyces are capable of degrading
polyethylene containing 6% starch. Degradation was
monitored from the changes in the mechanical
properties like tensile strength and elongation
15
.
Biodegradability rate of blends of LDPE and rice or
potato starch was enhanced when the starch content
exceeded 10% (w/w). No microorganism or bacterium
has been found so far that could degrade PE without
additives
16
.

Polycarbonate
Bisphenol-A polycarbonate is a widely used
polymer because of its excellent physical properties
such as transparency, high tensile strength, impact
resistance, rigidity and water resistance.
Polycarbonate (PC) gets its name from the carbonate
groups in its backbone chain. The transparency of PC
(up to 88% transmittance of visible light) is exploited
in such applications as aircraft light housings and
dials, windscreens for cars, safety helmets, contact
lenses, etc. Panels of PC are used as enclosures for
growing plants since it allows diffusion of light and
reduces plant sunburn resulting in more production.

Biodegradation of Polycarbonate
PC is stable to bioorganism attack. PCL sheets are
known to degrade in lipase AK, but when they are
blended with PC they become less biodegradable
5
. PC
being hydrophobic probably suppresses the
biodegradation, but that alone does not fully explains
the observed behaviour.
Several authors have described enzymatic
degradation of aliphatic polycarbonate (polyethylene
carbonate, PEC). No degradation of PEC with
molecular weight of 300-450 kDa in hydrolytic
enzymes including lipase, esterase, lysozyme,
chymotrypsin, trypsin, papain, pepsin, collagenase,
pronase and pronase E were observed indicating that
hydrolytic mechanisms based on hydrolases or
aqueous conditions were excluded for biodegradation
of PEC
17
.

Polyimide
Polyimides find application in electronic and
packaging industries. These polymers possess high
strength and resistance to degradation. Fungi like
Aspergillus versicolor, Cladosporium cladosporioides
and Chaetomium sp. were found to degrade this
polymer. Whereas bacteria like Acinetobacter
johnsonii, Agrobacterium radiobacter, Alcaligenes
denitricans, C. acidovorans, Pseudomonas sp. and
Vibrio anguillarum were not effective in
biodegrading this polymer.

Fibre-reinforced Polymeric Composite
Fibre-reinforced polymeric composite materials
(FRPCMs) are materials important in aerospace and
aviation industries. A fungal mixture consisting of
A. versicolor, C. cladosporioides, and Chaetomium
sp. and a mixed culture of bacteria including a
sulphate-reducing bacterium were found to grow on
this composite material. Only the fungi mixture could
cause deterioration detectable over more than 350
days
18
.

Polyacrylamide
Polyacrylamides are water-soluble synthetic linear
polymers made of acrylamide or the combination of
acrylamide and acrylic acid. Polyacrylamide finds
applications in pulp and paper production, agriculture,
food processing, and mining, while its major use is as
a flocculant in industrial water as well as municipal
water and wastewater treatment.

Biodegradation of Acrylamide
Acrylamide is readily biodegraded by
microorganisms in soil and water systems under
aerobic conditions by deamination to acrylic acid and
ammonia that are utilized as carbon and nitrogen
sources. Pseudomonas stutzeri, Rhodococcus spp.,
Xanthomonas spp. and mixed cultures have
demonstrated degrading abilities under aerobic
conditions in numerous studies
19
. However, few
studies have addressed the possibility of anaerobic
acrylamide biodegradation
20
.

Polyamide
Polyamide-6 (PA-6) is a widely used engineering
PREMRAJ & DOBLE: BIODEGRADATION OF POLYMERS


191
material. Oxidative degradation of PA-6 membranes
was found by lignolytic white rot fungus IZU-154. A.
niger mediated degradation of polyamides based on
tartaric acid and hexamethylenediamine and
Corynebacterium aurantiacum mediated degradation
of -caprolactam, as well as its oligomers has been
reported
12,21
. Lignolytic fungus, Phanerochaete
chrysosporium is also found to degrade PA-6
22
.
Degradation of the polymer was observed through the
decrease in the average molecular mass (50% after 3
months), as well as in the physical damage to the
fibres visible under a scanning electron microscope.

Polytetrafluoroethylene
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in the form of
micro powders are used as additives in inks, coatings
and lubricants. PTFE is classified as a polymer that
undergoes main chain scission by irradiation. Ionizing
radiation was capable of decreasing the molecular
weight of PTFE. Low-pressure plasmas were also
found useful for altering surface properties of polymer
materials like PTFE to satisfy the demand of certain
applications without altering the bulk properties.

Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene
Wood boring pholads, Martesia striata, damage
ABS pipes by drilling holes through the pipes, which
were used for 5 years for transportation of
hypochlorite. They were found to have hole with sizes
ranging from 3 to 19 mm
2
. Unlike other boring
animals (e.g. Lithophaga), M. striata, penetration is
not assisted by chemical dissolution of the substrates
and, therefore, attack is not limited to calcium
carbonate substrates
23
.

Rubber
Two major problems concerning rubber are the
wastage of valuable rubber and the disposal of waste
tyres leading to environmental pollution. Two major
approaches to solve this problem are the recycle and
reuse of used and waste rubber, and the reclaim of
rubber raw materials. The reuse of used rubber
includes using scrap rubber as fuel source. This is
achieved by selective oxidation process. Physical
reclaiming of rubber involves breaking down the
used/scrap material through mechanical, thermo-
mechanical, microwave or ultra sound and then
mixing it with the virgin material during
compounding
25
.

Biodegradation process for reclaiming of rubber
Biological attack of natural rubber latex is quite
facile. But addition of sulphur and numerous other
ingredients to rubber reduces biological attack. A
recent approach was to utilize a chemolithotrope
bacterium in aqueous suspension for attacking powder
elastomers on the surface only, so that after mixing
with virgin rubber diffusion of soluble polymer chains
is facilitated and bonding during vulcanization
becomes again possible.
Devulcanized scrap rubber can be obtained by
holding the comminuted scrap rubber in a bacterial
suspension of chemolithotropic microorganisms with
a supply of air until elemental sulphur or sulphuric
acid is separated
25
. This process can reclaim rubber
and sulphur in a simplified manner.
The biodegradation of the cis-1, 4-polyisoprene
chain was achieved by a bacterium belonging to the
genus Nocardia led to considerable weight loss of
different soft type NR-vulcanzates. The microbial
desulphurization or devulcanization of particle
surfaces was investigated in order to increase the
possibility of producing high quality rubber products
containing a larger percentage of recycled rubber. Old
tyres with 1.6% sulphur, were treated with different
species of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, T. thiooxidans,
T. thioparus in shake flasks and in a laboratory
reactor. The sulphur oxidation depends to a large
extent on the particle size. The best results were
obtained with T. thioparus with a particle size of 100-
200 mm. 4.7% of the total sulphur of the rubber
powder was oxidized to sulphate within 40 days
3
.
The reclaimed rubbers can be used in the
preparation of thermoplastic elastomers. Ground
rubber tyres can be used properly with thermoplastics
and thereby minimizing their disposal problem to a
considerable extent.

Biodegradable Polymers
Since most of the polymers are resistant to
degradation, research over the past couple of decades
has focused on developing biodegradable polymers,
which are degraded and catabolized ultimately to
carbon dioxide and water by bacteria, fungi under
natural environment. During the degradation process
they should not generate any harmful substances.
These polymers can be classified into three major
categories (1) polyesters produced by microorganisms
(2) natural polysaccharides and other biopolymers
like starch and (3) synthetic polymers like
aliphaticpolymers (eg, poly -caprolactone, poly L-
lactide and poly butylenesuccinate, etc. are
INDIAN J BIOTECHNOL, APRIL 2005


192
commerically produced).
Another approach towards achieving
biodegradability has been through the addition of
biodegradable groups into the main chain during the
preparation of industrial polymers prepared by free
radical copolymerization. Use of ethylene
bis(mercaptoacetate) as a chain transfer agent during
the copolymerization of styrene and MMA,
preparation of copolymers of vinylic monomers with
cyclic comonomers containing the biodegradable
functions like ketene acetal, cyclic disulphides are
two such approches
26
.

Conclusion
Polymers are generally resistant towards
degradation and most of the research has been
towards developing technologies for recovery and
reuse of the waste. Physico-chemical methods of
degradation have been more successful than
biological means. Nevertheless, the studies on the
biodegradation of plastics have increased our
knowledge of degrading microbes, enzymes and their
genes, and polymer structures for biodegradation.
This knowledge has also been useful for the design of
biodegradable polymers and for the molecular
evolution and breeding of degradation enzymes and
microbes. Biodegradation of polymers such as
polyethers, polyesters, polycaprolactones, poly-
lactides, polylactic acid, polyurethane, PVA, nylon,
polycarbonate, polyimide, polyacrylamide, poly
amide, PTFE and ABS have been reviewed.
Pseudomonas species degrade polyethers, polyesters,
PVA, polyimides and PUR effectively. Degradation
of several of these polymers proceed through
adsorption of the organism to the polymer surface
followed by hydrolytic cleavage, are also discussed in
this review. Enzymatic degradation of nylon proceeds
through drastic erosion. No microorganism has been
found to degrade polyethylene without additives such
as starch. The future lies in the polymers that will
degrade in the environment, but to degrade the tough
plastics and polymers that have already been
manufactured and are being manufactured, new
enzymes and organisms need to be designed.

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