Author(s):
1. Milan Matavulj, Prirodno-matematički fakultet u Novom Sadu, Serbia
2. Filip Matavulj, Karl Franzens Universität, Graz, Austria
3. Hans Peter Molitoris, Universität Regensburg, Germany

Abstract:
Considering new materials, sustainable development is now the bearer of innovation, especially when it comes to chemo-synthetic plastic materials that lead because of its omnipresence in our lives. Thanks to its unique performances that are related to the ease and cheapness of production, and its chemical resistance and toughness, plastic produced on the basis of naphtha and gas have found practical application in all aspects of human life, from the packaging and storage of food, clothing and furniture manufacturing, to building materials, autoindustry, manufacturing of medical equipment, etc. However, problems arising from the disposal of used, waste plastics, as well as due to limited supplies of fossil fuels as nonrenewable resources for the production of plastics, has focused research on finding alternative raw materials, closed-circuit recycling and innovative biodegradable plastics based on renewable resources. Poly-hydroxy-alkanoates [PHAs] are polyesters of hydroxy-alkanoic acids [HA] that are synthesized by a large number of micro-organisms as an intracellular carbon and energy storage. Around 100 various HA coud be included in the PHA polymers, what is the reason why these thermoplastic materials could have different mechanical and environmental properties. This makes them very interesting from the point of their potential use as bio-degradable plastics. There are several different bacterial strains including Alcaligenes eutrophus, A. latus, some representatives of the genus Pseudomonas, and the recombinants of Escherichia coli included in the study of their potential application in the production of PHAs. The cultivation of these bacteria brought to industrial scale resulted in the industrial production of environmentally compatible plastic materials. The results of our research show that the PHAs are fully bio-degradable, bio-compatible, and thanks to their physical properties are applicable in many areas, especially as environmentally compatible, sustainable packaging. The advantage of these materials, in addition to their excellent packaging performances, is that they are products based on renewable resources, which require significantly less energy to produce, which are CO2 sinks; which are non-toxic, bio-degradable and sustainable considering any aspect of the economic development. Improving the fermentation processes and the development of new strains of bacteria and plants, which will effectively reduce the biosynthesized PHA production costs, in the future will make PHAs more competitive compared to petro-chemically based plastics. According to our experimental results, blending of small amounts (1-5%) of (still expensive) bio-degradable plastic with non-degradable make them bio-destructible and to some extent more environmentally friendly.

Key words:
Polyhydroxyalkanoates, Bio-degradable, Bio-destructible plastics, Sustainability

Thematic field:
SYMPOSIUM A - Science of matter, condensed matter and physics of solid states

Date of abstract submission:
05.07.2016.

Conference:
Contemporary Materials 2016 - Savremeni Materijali