The escalating global concern regarding plastic waste accumulation and its detrimental environmental impact has driven the exploration of sustainable alternatives to conventional petroleum-based plastics. This study investigates the development of antimicrobial blends of bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) derived from plastic waste and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHB), further enhanced with essential oils. The antimicrobial activity of the resulting BNC/PHB blends was tested in vitro against 

. The incorporation of essential oils, particularly cinnamon oil, significantly enhanced the antimicrobial properties of the BNC/PHB blends. The BNC with 5% PHB blend exhibited the highest antifungal inhibition against 

 at 90.25%. Additionally, blends with 2% and 10% PHB also showed antifungal activity, inhibiting 68% of 

 growth. These findings highlight the potential of incorporating essential oils into BNC/PHB blends to create effective antimicrobial materials. The study concludes that enhancing the antimicrobial properties of BNC/PHB significantly broadens its potential applications across various sectors, including wound dressings, nanofiltration masks, controlled-release fertilizers, and active packaging.

Development of Antimicrobial Blends of Bacteria Nanocellulose Derived from Plastic Waste and Polyhydroxybutyrate Enhanced with Essential Oils

 EcoPlastiC Steering Meeting (SM) took place on 29 November 2024 where the partners highlighted the latest updates and presented plans for 2025.

 is working on scaling up the process of PHA production to 10 L and after that AVE will scale up to 50 L. The microbiome developed in the 

 was selected for the scale up process due to its TPA removal efficiency, high volumetric productivity and good PHA content. The optimisation of PHA recovery included several strategies. When supercritical carbon-dioxide (sc-CO2) was employed (

), pre-treatment and extraction showed improved cell rupture and PHA recovery. Films made from this biomass exhibited flexibility and cohesiveness, which is a step forward for packaging applications. Enzymatic treatments were assessed at 

, where a successful extraction of PHB (60% biomass) and mcl-PHA (20% biomass) was observed. Astonishing 100 % recovery of PHB was achieved and about 50% of mcl-PHA recovery. Within the task on biopolymer characterization and processing (

), the film forming capacity of PHA-rich biomass was tested. These films were tested under varying temperature and pressure conditions. It was shown that temperatures below 130°C produced optimal results, preventing brittleness. Additionally, glycerol addition improved flexibility and reduced brittleness.

 is scaling up the YB423 sample biomass, currently, the process achieved 4.45 g/L of freeze-dried biomass. The next step will involve transitioning to a bioreactor with sufficient oxygen supply and after that the crude protein content in single-cell protein and biomass will be determined. Additionally, compression tests were conducted to produce PHA films using commercialized PHA pellets and compared them with the pure PHB-HV samples by NOVA, focusing on properties such as barrier performance, tensile strength and other mechanical characteristics. 

 are working on publications of the WP5 results concerning ecoplastic films.

 is preparing the EcoPlastiC Newsletter #3 for December 2024. You can read the previous issues 

 and subscribe to our mailing list at this 

. A new EcoPlastiC promotional video was prepared and will be included in the Newsletter #3. The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have improved between year 1 and year 2 of the project and the numbers keep going up in year 3.

Representatives from all partner institutions attended the SM:

 (Ireland) - Marija Mojicevic, Laura Rodriguez Barroso, Bor Shin Chee, Cuneyt Erdinct Tas, Buket Alkan Tas, Necdet Ozcelik, Eduardo Lanzagorta Garcia

 (Team Leader), Patricia Concordio dos Reis, Maria Nicolau Batista

 (Team Leader), Jelena Simic, Marijana Ponjavic

 (Team Leader), Kiran Reddy Baddigam, Anna Svagen Hanner

Regular EcoPlastiC SMs are organised each 2 months, to make sure this project moves forward according to plans.

Seventh EcoPlastiC Steering Meeting

The European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB) and the Asian Federation of Biotechnology (AFOB) organized an 

“Plastics: Challenges and Biotechnological Solutions”

 to explore the range of new bio-based materials that are becoming available. The event gathered several field experts from academia and industry who delivered 13 inspiring keynote lectures, 13 oral communications, and several poster presentations throughout four engaging sessions on New bio-based plastics, Enzyme engineering for plastic synthesis and biodegradation, Progress in plastic recycling and Environmental impact of discarded plastics, that filled the day with knowledge-sharing and networking opportunities.

The conference programme is available here: 

https://efbiotechnology.org/images/plastics/Plastics_scientific_programme_15_03.pdf

The EcoPlastiC project results were presented by 

, a PhD candidate from the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), who gave a short talk titled “Biotechnological Treatment of Polyethylene Terephthalate Mixed Plastic Streams” in which he presented part of his PhD work on biotechnological solutions for end-of-life mixed PET plastic waste. He highlighted findings from a 

 from the EcoPlastiC consortium reporting a biotechnological pathway that uses enzymes to break down mixed PET streams and further converts waste hydrolysates into a regenerative eco-polymer.

EcoPlastiC at the EFB “Plastics: Challenges and Biotechnological Solutions”