Can bio-based additives enhance microbial recruitment and degradation of plastics without compromising performance?
Supervisors:
Dr Julianne Megaw, Queens University Belfast
Dr Peter Martin, Queens University Belfast
Dr Leonardo Mancini, University of Glasgow
Summary:
Plastic pollution is a major global challenge, driven by the widespread use of durable plastics that can persist in the environment for decades or centuries after disposal. This project will investigate whether bio-based additives, including materials such as wood flour, algal biomass, and chitin, can enhance the biodegradability of common plastics while maintaining the mechanical properties required for practical applications.
This is founded on evidence that microorganisms capable of degrading natural polymers can often degrade synthetic plastics, reflecting structural and chemical similarities between these materials. The project will investigate how bio-based additives influence material performance, microbial colonisation, and biodegradation, and whether they can recruit microbial communities that promote degradation of the underlying plastic polymer.
The project combines environmental microbiology, microbial ecology, and materials science. The student will formulate and characterise composite plastics, assess their performance using a range of mechanical and analytical techniques, and evaluate biodegradation in soil, compost,
freshwater, and marine microcosms. Advanced microbiological approaches will be used to investigate microbial attachment, biofilm formation, and community succession, while identifying microorganisms and synthetic consortia with plastic-degrading potential that could
be exploited in future biotechnological applications. The student will graduate with a highly interdisciplinary skillset spanning materials
characterisation, environmental microbiology, microbial ecology, molecular biology, advanced imaging, microfluidics, data analysis, and scientific communication, preparing them for careers in academia, environmental biotechnology, materials science, industrial R&D, sustainability research, and the bioeconomy sector.