Acronym MARPLAST
Category
Marine Biotechnology
Title Marine microorganisms for bioplastics production Programme International Cooperation
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-European Coordinator Arne Smalås Coordinator email arne.smalas@uit.no
Coordinator institution
UiT - The Arctic University of Norway (Norway)
Institutions involved
UMU - UMEA University (Sweden) ,
UNIBUC - University of Bucharest (Romania) ,
Start year 2017 End year 2020 Funding (€) € 1,793,000 Website http://www.marinebiotech.eu/file/marplastproject-description-era-mbt-call-2pdf Summary The steady increase in microplastic concentration could result in dramatic effects on the vulnerable wildlife of the oceans and marine food supplies. It is therefore of immediate importance to develop novel types of polymeric materials that can be sustainably produced to address these envir onmental concerns. MARPLAST focuses on Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a class of biodegradable bioplastics which are considered to be feasible replacements for current petroleum - based plastics. PHAs are polymers occurring in nature, produced among others by bacteria, and with properties similar to oil - derived polypropylene and polyesters, rendering them useful as an attractive biodegradable replacement. However, the naturally occurring PHA production pathways are not sufficiently understood, and currently kn own technologies for production are too costly to allow for a full - scale replacement. MARPLAST aims to develop and provide tools (bacteria, enzymes, and pathways) to enable efficient production of sustainable and biodegradable bioplastics from low - cost une xploited biomass. Focus will be on PHA - producing cold - adapted marine bacteria, which have a range of properties that make them especially suitable for industrial applications. MARPLAST will utilize expertise from the Univ of Tromsø (Norway), Univ of Buchar est (Romania) and Umeå University (Sweden) to make important progress and contributions to the transition to a bio - based European economy
Keywords
Bacteria;
Bioprospecting;
Biopolymer;
Marine Region
76
Not associated to marine areas
0
Marine Region Map
