Acronym BioPlasMar
Category
Marine Biotechnology
Title Plastic removal and valorization of marine resources through new product development Programme National Programme
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National Coordinator João Pinto da Costa Coordinator email joao.pinto.da.costa@gmail.com
Coordinator institution
UA - University of Aveiro (Portugal)
Institutions involved
CESPU - University Polytechnic Higher Education Cooperative (Portugal) ,
Start year 2022 End year 2025 Funding (€) € 225,316 Website http://www.cesam.ua.pt/index.php?menu=&language=eng&tabela=projectosdetail&projectid=1906# Summary Plastics have become an inescapable reality of the modern world. Their desirable characteristics - flexibility, durability, and low cost - also render plastic waste a ubiquitous and pervasive contaminant. The increased production of these materials has led to their accumulation in the environment, particularly in the marine environment and the currently available conventional treatments of plastic waste, considering a mixture of different polymers, are of limited efficiency. Therefore, research is needed on the development of new strategies for the sustainable management of plastic waste. The goal of the innovative project BioPlasMar is to develop biotechnologically based solutions for the removal of plastic using marine fungi. These strategies can be grounded on the use of microorganisms and/or enzymes as potential treatment approaches and no works have delved into the biodegradation of plastic mixtures. Hence, such environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions may allow for the removal of waste comprising plastic mixtures (different sizes andpolymers), with concomitant potential for the use of the generated biomass for the upcycling to high-value products, all in a context of a circular economy approach. When successful, the developed approach may be susceptible to scale-up, and, potentially, may be subsequently applied to pilot waste treatment facilities, either dedicated or as an extension treatment stage in existing treatment plants, yielding a marked contribution to the protection of the marine environment and resources, as well as generation of added-value products.
Keywords
Bioprospecting;
Waste valorization;
Restoration;
Biodegradation;
Habitat enhancement;
Waste management;
Wastes;
Bioproduct;
Fungus;
Marine Region
76
Not associated to marine areas
0
Marine Region Map
