Degradation of aliphatic–aromatic copolyesters by bacteria that can degrade aliphatic polyesters

The degradation activities of bacteria that can degrade aliphatic polyesters on various aliphatic–aromatic copolyesters (PBSTIL, PBST, and Ecoflex™) were investigated. Among the bacteria examined, strain TB-71 showed the best degradation activity. An HPLC analysis of the degradation products revealed that PBST55 and Ecoflex™ are degraded into monomers by strain TB-71. In the case of PBSTIL, an unknown peak was detected by the HPLC analysis and was considered to be derived from water-soluble oligomers containing isophthalic acid segments. This finding seemed to be attributed to the chemical structure of the aromatic segments of the copolymers.