Digital Commons Network^™

Deconstructed Plastic Substrate Preferences Of Microbial Populations From The Natural Environment, Lindsay I. Putman, Laura G. Schaerer, Ruochen Wu, Daniel G. Kulas, Ali Zolghadr, Rebecca Ong, David Shonnard, Stephen Techtmann

Michigan Tech Publications

Over half of the world's plastic waste is landfilled, where it is estimated to take hundreds of years to degrade. Given the continued use and disposal of plastic products, it is vital that we develop fast and effective ways to utilize plastic waste. Here, we explore the potential of tandem chemical and biological processing to process various plastics quickly and effectively. Four samples of compost or sediment were used to set up enrichment cultures grown on mixtures of compounds, including disodium terephthalate and terephthalic acid (monomers of polyethylene terephthalate), compounds derived from the chemical deconstruction of polycarbonate, and pyrolysis oil …

Impacts Of Nutrients On Alkene Biodegradation Rates And Microbial Community Composition In Enriched Consortia From Natural Inocula, Emily Byrne, Simeon Schum, Laura Schaerer, Stephen M. Techtmann

Michigan Tech Publications

There is a growing need for biological and chemical methods for upcycling plastic waste streams. Pyrolysis processes can accelerate plastic depolymerization by breaking polyethylene into smaller alkene components which may be more biodegradable than the initial polymer. While the biodegradation of alkanes has been extensively studied, the role microorganisms play in alkene breakdown is not well understood. Alkene biodegradation holds the potential to contribute to the coupling of chemical and biological processing of polyethylene plastics. In addition, nutrient levels are known to impact rates of hydrocarbon degradation. Model alkenes were used (C6, C10, C16, and C20) to follow the breakdown …

Advances In Mg Corrosion And Research Suggestions, Andrej Atrens, Guang Ling Song, Fuyong Cao, Zhiming Shi, Patrick K. Bowen

Michigan Tech Publications

Recent research is summarised with an emphasis on the use of Mg alloys for biodegradable medical applications. Mg melt purification using Zr has been shown to provide the opportunity to produce ultra-high-purity Mg alloys, which could lead to stainless Mg. Nor's solution may be a good starting model for the study of Mg for biodegradable medical implant applications. A systematic laboratory investigation is needed to elucidate the details of how the corrosion behaviour is controlled by the various constituents of the body fluids.

In the evaluation of the Mg corrosion mechanism there is a critical lack of understanding of (i) …

Evaluation Of Artificial Intelligence Based Models For Chemical Biodegradability Prediction, James R. Baker, Dragan Gamberger, James R. Mihelcic, Aleksandar Sabljic

Michigan Tech Publications

This study presents a review of biodegradability modeling efforts including a detailed assessment of two models developed using an artificial intelligence based methodology. Validation results for these models using an independent, quality reviewed database, demonstrate that the models perform well when compared to another commonly used biodegradability model, against the same data. The ability of models induced by an artificial intelligence methodology to accommodate complex interactions in detailed systems, and the demonstrated reliability of the approach evaluated by this study, indicate that the methodology may have application in broadening the scope of biodegradability models. Given adequate data for biodegradability of …