Team:TU Darmstadt/Applied Design
Polymers are everywhere. Refined from oil and gas, they make up products we use every day, such as plastic, digital devices and clothes. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), petrochemicals will be the largest driver of oil demand in the future. But with all the extracting of oil comes high environmentally costs. At land, the gas extraction via fracking can cause groundwater pollution and harm to local ecosystems. In the air, fossil fuel combustion emissions release carbon, nitrogen and sulfur that create smog, acid rain and warm up the earth as greenhouse gases. This is why there is great need for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to petrochemicals. In particular, we challenge the plastic production. Through synthesis of monomers in microorganisms, we hope to reduce the reliability on petrochemicals, so we can meet climate, air quality and water pollution goals, in the future.