Abstract
Thermoset polymeric composites or epoxy composites are plastics frequently used in most industrial sectors (construction, aeronautic, automotive, renewable energy, sports). Their crosslinked microstructure of these polymers represents their main advantage, providing lightness and great mechanical strength; but also restrict their ability for reprocessing and recycling at end of life. Thus, landfilling or incineration are usually the only alternatives.
Biotechnological degradation or recycling of recalcitrant compounds is tackled by screening and/or adaptation of microorganisms capable of degrading the target compounds. Many factors influence the material degradation, such as: chemical composition, structure (pretreatment requirement), surface properties and appearance of the compound (historical microbial-material contact), microbial activity (need of Synthetic Biology approach), and degradative process (confined, microbial release). Development of solutions for microbial degradation of epoxy composites is the core of the EU-funded project ESTELLA (no. 101058371).
A Pseudomonas putida strain has been isolated from a commercial epoxy resin (RTM6) previously cured, grinded and metataxonomically analysed. An integral Omics approach
has been developed around the strain, which includes genome sequencing, label free Proteomics and transcriptome validation, to evaluate its ability to survive and utilize the epoxy material as the carbon and energy sources. These studies are o_ering an intriguing view of the biodegradation of recalcitrant materials by a new microbial isolate of a wellknown genus of material degraders.