biodegradability of plastics生物降解性塑料.pdfVIP

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2009, 10, 3722-3742; doi:10.3390/ijm OPEN ACCESS International Journal of Molecular Sciences ISSN 1422-0067 /journal/ijms Review Biodegradability of Plastics 1, 2 1 2 Yutaka Tokiwa *, Buenaventurada P. Calabia , Charles U. Ugwu and Seiichi Aiba 1 Okinawa Industrial Technology Center/12-2 Suzaki, Uruma, Okinawa 904-2234, Japan; E-Mail: ugutyaru@pref.okinawa.lg.jp (C.U.U.) 2 National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)/Tsukuba Central 6, Higashi, Tsukuba Ibaraki 305- 8566, Japan; E-Mails: b.calabia@aist.go.jp (B.P.C.); aiba-seiichi@aist.go.jp (S.A.) * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: tokiwayu@pref.okinawa.lg.jp (Y.T.); Tel. +81-98-929-0111; Fax: +81-98-929-0115. Received: 5 August 2009; in revised form: 21 August 2009 / Accepted: 25 August 2009 / Published: 26 August 2009 Abstract: Plastic is a broad name given to different polymers with high molecular weight, which can be degraded by various processes. However, considering their abundance in the environment and their specificity in attacking plastics, biodegradation of plastics by microorganisms and enzymes seems to be the most effective process. When plastics are used as substrates for microorganisms, evaluation of their biodegradability should not only be based on their chemi