Defined Microbial Mixed Culture for Utilization of Polyurethane Monomers

ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, vol. 8, pp. 17466–17474

Abstract

Abstract The end-of-life plastic crisis is very prominent in the research area and even in the public realm. Especially, for plastic polymers that are difficult to recycle via traditional routes such as the polyurethanes (PUs), novel routes should be investigated. In 2015, PU contributed about 16 million metric tons of global plastic waste. While polymer degradation via chemical routes such as solvolysis and pyrolysis are feasible, the challenge of PU chemical recycling is in the varying mixture and composition of its monomers. Here, we propose a biotechnological route to utilize PU hydrolysate as a carbon source for a defined microbial mixed culture. The mixed culture consists of dedicated microbes, each trained to utilize a single PU monomer and further engineered to produce valuable products. While three Pseudomonas putida KT2440 derivatives utilized adipic acid, 1,4-butanediol, and ethylene glycol, respectively, a recently described Pseudomonas sp. TDA1 used 2,4-toluenediamine (TDA) as a sole carbon source. However, TDA clearly inhibited mixed substrate utilization by the mixed culture, and it also has a high intrinsic value. Therefore, TDA reactive extraction before PU monomer utilization was established, allowing full utilization of the remaining PU monomers as carbon sources for rhamnolipid production. The results highlight the potential of (bio)technological plastic upcycling.

Authors 9

1. Romualdus Nugraha Catur Utomo Aachen Institute of Applied Microbiology - iAMB

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University , , Worringerweg 1 , ,

   Institute of Applied Microbiology−iAMB, Aachen Biology and Biotechnology−ABBt, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, Aachen 52074, Germany

2. Wing‐Jin Li Aachen Institute of Applied Microbiology - iAMB

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University , , Worringerweg 1 , ,

   Institute of Applied Microbiology−iAMB, Aachen Biology and Biotechnology−ABBt, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, Aachen 52074, Germany

3. Till Tiso Aachen Institute of Applied Microbiology - iAMB

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University , , Worringerweg 1 , ,

   Institute of Applied Microbiology−iAMB, Aachen Biology and Biotechnology−ABBt, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, Aachen 52074, Germany

4. Christian Eberlein

   Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research−UFZ , , Permoserstraße 15 , ,

   Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research−UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany

5. Moritz Doeker Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen , , Forckenbeckstraße 51 , ,

   AVT, Fluid Process Engineering, RWTH Aachen, Forckenbeckstraße 51, Aachen 52074, Germany

6. Hermann J. Heipieper

   Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research−UFZ , , Permoserstraße 15 , ,

   Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research−UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany

7. Andreas Jupke Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen , , Forckenbeckstraße 51 , ,

   AVT, Fluid Process Engineering, RWTH Aachen, Forckenbeckstraße 51, Aachen 52074, Germany

8. Nick J. P. Wierckx Aachen Institute of Applied Microbiology - iAMB

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Forschungszentrum Jülich , , ,

   RWTH Aachen University , , Worringerweg 1 , ,

   Institute of Applied Microbiology−iAMB, Aachen Biology and Biotechnology−ABBt, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, Aachen 52074, Germany

   Institute of Bio- and Geosciences IBG-1: Biotechnology Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich 52425, Germany

9. Lars M. Blank corresponding Aachen Institute of Applied Microbiology - iAMB

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University , , Worringerweg 1 , ,

   Institute of Applied Microbiology−iAMB, Aachen Biology and Biotechnology−ABBt, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, Aachen 52074, Germany