Difference between revisions of "Team:Edinburgh OG/project background"
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<p style="padding-left: 60px; text-align: justify;">One of the increasingly concerning unsustainable practice in human practices that needs to be addressed immediately is the growth of municipal pollution. Petrochemical plastics are undoubtedly among the top contributors to this due to their long degradation time. At the same time, it is challenging to detach plastic from our everyday life and the global economy as it provides many benefits thanks to their advantageous properties. The demand has increased and plastic production has doubled in the last 50 years, mainly because of its unrivalled properties, low cost and relatively easy production (MacArthur, 2016). Despite their advantages, the production and use of plastics is also responsible for the generation of greenhouse gas emissions and harmful impacts of substances used in their current life cycle (Higson, 2018). The current and projected production of plastics could lead to a scenario in where the ocean will contain more plastics than fish, according to a report from The Ellen MacArthur Foundation. </p> | <p style="padding-left: 60px; text-align: justify;">One of the increasingly concerning unsustainable practice in human practices that needs to be addressed immediately is the growth of municipal pollution. Petrochemical plastics are undoubtedly among the top contributors to this due to their long degradation time. At the same time, it is challenging to detach plastic from our everyday life and the global economy as it provides many benefits thanks to their advantageous properties. The demand has increased and plastic production has doubled in the last 50 years, mainly because of its unrivalled properties, low cost and relatively easy production (MacArthur, 2016). Despite their advantages, the production and use of plastics is also responsible for the generation of greenhouse gas emissions and harmful impacts of substances used in their current life cycle (Higson, 2018). The current and projected production of plastics could lead to a scenario in where the ocean will contain more plastics than fish, according to a report from The Ellen MacArthur Foundation. </p> | ||
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<p style="padding-left: 60px;">With the growing concern for the environment due to the negative impacts of plastic degradability and climate change coupled with the over use of fossil fuels (regarding source exhaustion and price stability, for instance), increasing efforts have been made to establish more sustainable bio-based production platforms. Particular attention has been given to Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a broad family of biodegradable, biologically produced polymers with a tremendous capacity for use as plastics. Many microbes synthesise PHAs when in an excess of carbon, but limited oxygen conditions, they synthesise them to act as an energy store (Shah, et al., 2008).</p> | <p style="padding-left: 60px;">With the growing concern for the environment due to the negative impacts of plastic degradability and climate change coupled with the over use of fossil fuels (regarding source exhaustion and price stability, for instance), increasing efforts have been made to establish more sustainable bio-based production platforms. Particular attention has been given to Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a broad family of biodegradable, biologically produced polymers with a tremendous capacity for use as plastics. Many microbes synthesise PHAs when in an excess of carbon, but limited oxygen conditions, they synthesise them to act as an energy store (Shah, et al., 2008).</p> | ||
Revision as of 14:32, 8 October 2018
