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Title Integrating chemical and biological technologies in upcycling plastic waste to medium-chain α,ω-Diacid
ID_Doc 9848
Authors Yeo, IS; Go, KS; Jeon, WY; Jang, MJ; Lee, HJ; Seo, SH; Kim, YS; Park, H; Min, BW; Park, K; Yang, YH; Choi, KY; Lee, HW; Jeon, SG; Ahn, JO
Title Integrating chemical and biological technologies in upcycling plastic waste to medium-chain α,ω-Diacid
Year 2024
Published
DOI 10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.141890
Abstract The growing accumulation of plastic waste poses a pressing environmental challenge. Traditional disposal methods, such as incineration and landfilling, carry considerable health and ecological risks. In response, our study presents an innovative method to repurpose mixed plastic waste into valuable alpha, omega-diacids utilizing chemobiological processes. We extracted pyrolysis oil, rich in hydrocarbons spanning a broad range of chain lengths (C 7 to C 32 ), from household plastic waste and employed a genetically engineered beta-oxidation-blocked Candida tropicalis strain to convert this oil into alpha, omega-diacids of various chain lengths. Simple distillation at 200 degrees C enabled the extraction of medium-chain hydrocarbons from the pyrolysis oil. However, an increased ratio of medium-chain alkenes posed a toxicity challenge to the cells. Through hydrogenation, these medium-chain alkenes were fully converted to alkanes. Remarkably, cell growth was maintained even with an 8% concentration of hydrogenates. The subsequent biotransformation yielded medium-chain diacids, with 94.3% of the produced alpha, omega-diacids being of medium-chain length (C 7 to C 14 ). These results offer a novel and scalable solution for converting everyday plastic waste into valuable chemicals, thus significantly contributing to the circular economy and the advancement of sustainability goals.
Author Keywords Sustainability; Pyrolysis oil; Microbial biotransformation; alpha,omega-diacids; Plastic waste upcycling; Candida tropicalis
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
EID WOS:001224003700001
WoS Category Green & Sustainable Science & Technology; Engineering, Environmental; Environmental Sciences
Research Area Science & Technology - Other Topics; Engineering; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
PDF https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.141890
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