With more and more plastics being employed in human lives and increasing pressure being placed on capacities available for plastic waste disposal, the need for biodegradable plastics and biodegradation of plastic wastes has assumed increasing importance in the last few years. This review looks at the technological advancement made in the development of more easily biodegradable plastics and the biodegradation of conventional plastics by microorganisms. Additives, such as pro-oxidants and starch, are applied in synthetic materials to modify and make plastics biodegradable. Recent research has shown that thermoplastics derived from polyolefins, traditionally considered resistant to biodegradation in ambient environment, are biodegraded following photo-degradation and chemical degradation. Thermoset plastics, such as aliphatic polyester and polyester polyurethane, are easily attacked by microorganisms directly because of the potential hydrolytic cleavage of ester or urethane bonds in their structures. Some microorganisms have been isolated to utilize polyurethane as a sole source of carbon and nitrogen source. Aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters have active commercial applications because of their good mechanical properties and biodegradability. Reviewing published and ongoing studies on plastic biodegradation, this paper attempts to make conclusions on potentially viable methods to reduce impacts of plastic waste on the environment.

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塑料废物生物降解研究综述。

随着越来越多的塑料在人类生活中被使用，以及越来越多的压力处理可用于处理塑料废物的能力，近几年来对可生物降解塑料和塑料废物进行生物降解的需求日益重要。这篇综述着眼于在开发更易生物降解的塑料以及微生物对常规塑料进行生物降解方面的技术进步。添加剂，例如前氧化剂和淀粉，可用于合成材料中，以改性塑料并使之可生物降解。最近的研究表明，传统上被认为在周围环境中具有抗生物降解性的聚烯烃衍生的热塑性塑料在光降解和化学降解后会被生物降解。热固性塑料 诸如脂族聚酯和聚酯聚氨酯之类的化合物，由于其结构中酯或氨基甲酸酯键的潜在水解裂解作用，很容易被微生物直接攻击。已经分离出一些微生物以利用聚氨酯作为碳和氮源的唯一来源。脂肪族-芳香族共聚酯由于其良好的机械性能和生物降解性而具有积极的商业应用。回顾已发表和正在进行的有关塑料生物降解的研究，本文试图就减少塑料废料对环境的影响的可行方法得出结论。已经分离出一些微生物以利用聚氨酯作为碳和氮源的唯一来源。脂肪族-芳香族共聚酯由于其良好的机械性能和生物降解性而具有积极的商业应用。回顾已发表和正在进行的有关塑料生物降解的研究，本文试图就减少塑料废料对环境的影响的可行方法得出结论。已经分离出一些微生物以利用聚氨酯作为碳和氮源的唯一来源。脂肪族-芳香族共聚酯由于其良好的机械性能和生物降解性而具有积极的商业应用。回顾已发表和正在进行的有关塑料生物降解的研究，本文试图就减少塑料废物对环境的影响的可行方法得出结论。