Elaina M. Blair

Jun 17, 2024 | aiche.onlinelibrary.wiley.com | Jennifer Brown |Dong Li |Patricia Holden |Elaina M. Blair

1 INTRODUCTION Only a small percentage of microbes have been cultivated and characterized.1 Yet, microbes are involved in vast aspects of human life,2, 3 including the war on plastics.4 Microbes produce degradative enzymes, such as carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) and rely on a carbon source for growth, which plastics can potentially offer.5 More than 5 billion tons of plastic waste can be found in the environment,6 and that number continues to grow.