Studies on Novel Biodegradation of Polyester Films

In recent years, there has been a marked increase in interest of biodegradable materials for use in packaging, agriculture, medicine, and other areas. As a result, many researchers are investing time into modifying traditional materials to make them more user-friendly, and designing novel polymer composites out of naturally occurring materials. Polyesters have recently become materials of considerable interest because of their potential biodegradability. The elimination of wide range of pollutants and wastes from the environment are an absolute requirement to promote a sustainable development of our society with low environmental impact. Biological processes play a major role in the removal of contaminants and take advantage of astonishing catabolic versatility of microorganisms to degrade/convert such compounds. Microbial degradation can take place through the action of enzymes or by products (acids & peroxides) secreted by micro-organisms. Fungi accomplish uptake of organic molecules by the secretion of enzymes into the surrounding medium which decompose organic molecules to the simpler ones that are transported into the cell and metabolized through variety of metabolic pathways.