Plastic Waste Predators: Harnessing Nature to Combat Global Plastic Pollution
Finding Genius Podcast
Richard Jacobs
4.4 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 2 June 2024
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Join us as we delve into the fascinating world of biodegradation with Professor Ramani Narayan of Michigan State University, an expert on polymer science and the interaction between microbes and plastics. Discover how bacteria and fungi use carbon as a vital source of food and energy, and what's stopping them from consuming accumulated environmental plastic waste.
In this episode, we explore:
- The function of biofilms as microbial habitats versus substrates in biodegradation
- The complexities of extracting and consuming carbon from common plastic materials — why is it so challenging for bacteria?
- What influences bacteria to consume one material over another, and the types of chemical bonds they can break down
- How temperature affects the rate and efficiency of biodegradation
- The ongoing challenges and innovative solutions needed to scale microbial degradation effectively for environmental impact
Tune in to hear the full conversation and learn more about Narayan's work at Ramani Narayan | Michigan State University (msu.edu).
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Forget frequently asked questions. |
| 0:02.0 | Common sense, common knowledge, or Google. |
| 0:05.0 | How about advice from a real genius? |
| 0:07.0 | 95% of people in any profession are good enough to be qualified and licensed. |
| 0:11.0 | 5% go above and beyond. They become very good at what they do. |
| 0:15.0 | But only 0.1% are real Jesus. |
| 0:18.2 | Richard Jacobs has made it his life's mission to find them for you. |
| 0:22.2 | He hunts down and interviews geniuses in every |
| 0:24.6 | field, sleep science, cancer, stem cells, ketogenic diets and more. Here come the geniuses. |
| 0:30.0 | This is the Finding Genius Podcast. |
| 0:33.0 | That is Richard Jacobs. |
| 0:35.0 | Hello, this is Richard Jacobs with the Finding Genius Podcast. |
| 0:41.0 | My guest is Professor Ramani Narayan. He's a University of Distinguished |
| 0:44.8 | Professor at Michigan State University, on the soup. We're going to talk about his work with |
| 0:48.5 | fungus and bacteria that are able to consume and alter plastic waste, which will be very, very promising. |
| 0:54.4 | So welcome, Raimani, thank you for coming. |
| 0:55.9 | Thank you. |
| 0:56.9 | Tell me a bit about your background. |
| 0:58.2 | Your degree is, I guess, you're in chemical engineering, but how did you come to work on you know the systems you're working on today with |
| 1:04.2 | fungus and bacteria? Yes so my background is a chemical engineer and I joined |
| 1:10.2 | MSU in 89 and even at that time plastics waste was a major issue and what happens to the waste after it enters the environment, particularly because these were ubiquitous and persistent, |
| 1:28.3 | non-biodegradable and accumulating. |
... |
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