El poliuretano tiene un problema: al igual que otros plsticos , no se recicla fcilmente y no se biodegrada...

o por lo menos as se crea hasta hace poco. Un grupo de investigadores de la Facultad de Qumica de la UNAM ha encontrado una bacteria que tiene la capacidad de degradar ese plstico. Los plsticos Las propiedades de los plsticos se deben a la estructura de sus molculas, que estn formadas de series de molculas ms pequeas, llamadas monmeros, que se repiten como los eslabones de una cadena. Los materiales con esta estructura se llaman polmeros. La gran mayora de los plsticos est constituida por polmeros de carbono e hidrgeno, solos o en combinacin con el oxgeno, nitrgeno, cloro o azufre. Estos materiales se obtienen principalmente de compuestos orgnicos derivados del petrleo. E primer polmero sinttico fue la baquelita, creada por el qumico belga Leo Hendrink Bakeland en 1909. Baekeland hizo reaccionar fenol. Formaldehido y otros ingredientes bajo presin y a alta temperatura. El material resultante se us sobre todo para fabricar piezas aislantes para equipo elctrico, como radios y telfonos. A partir de entonces comenz el desarrollo de una enorme cantidad de plsticos diferentes: vinilo, poliestireno, acrlico, poliuretano y muchos otros. Cada uno ha ido ocupando un lugar en la industria y todos han obtenido un gran xito comercial. Espumas flexibles El 13 de noviembre de 1937 se public en Alemania la patente DRP 728981, referente a un proceso de produccin de poliuretano y poliureas . El equipo de inventores que la solicit estaba dirigido por el qumico Otto Bayer, quin no perteneca a la familia del mismo apellido que se hizo famosa por sus innovaciones en qumica. A este Bayer se le reconoce como el padre de la industria del poliuretano por haber inventado el proceso bsico para obtenerlo. Aun que durante la segunda guerra mundial se creatron numerosas aplicaciones para el nuevo material, como ropa resistente al gas mostaza, esmaltes para aviones y recubrimientos protectores para metal o madera, El auge de los poliuretanos se registra hacia la dcada de 1950, con la aparicin de los adhesivos, elastmeros y espumas rgidas. La forma ms conocida, una mullida espuma flexible, slo estuvo disponible comercialmente al final de esa dcada. Por su bajo costo, la espuma flexible, tambin conocido como hule espuma, abri la puerta a una avalancha de aplicaciones, como relleno de colchones y otros muebles, partes de autos, ropa, tenis, aparatos, material aislante y molduras. Hoy en da, cerca de tres cuartas partes de los productos de poliuretano se consumen en forma de espumas. Sea en la industria de la construccin, del vestido o de la fabricacin de automviles y neumticos, ha sido un material til, resistente y durable. Desafortunadamente, sus caracterstica a la resistencia a la degradacin ambiental y biolgica, que en principio constituy su cualidad ms atractiva se ha convertido en una pesadilla ecolgica. En condiciones de humedad, el poliuretano puede tardar ms de un

siglo en descomponerse. Incinerarlo no es una buena alternativa, porque al quemarse produce residuos muy txicos y contaminantes, como monxido de carbono, xido de nitrgeno y cianuro de nitrgeno. Cazadores de bacterias. Los artculos de poliuretano pueden reciclarse, pero en general se trata de un reciclaje secundario, porque el material resultante no puede utilizarse para fabricar productos con el mismo valor que tena los artculos originales. Existen dos vas de reciclaje: la mecnica y la qumica. En el reciclaje mecnico , los desechos del poliuretano se trituran o pulverizan para emplearse en la produccin de nuevos artculos. En el reciclado qumico, en cambio, se busca descomponer el material. Queda el problema del manejo seguro de los desechos, que se suman a los de otros plsticos para alcanzar la impresionante cantidad de cinco millones de toneladas anuales solamente en Estados Unidos y Canad. El doctor Javier Cruz Gmez , investigador del Departamento de Ingeniera Qumica de la UNAM, dice que desde hace unos 10 aos se sabe que el poliuretano se puede biodegradar. La biodegradacin, a diferencia del reciclado, se produce por medios naturales, por su intervencin de microorganismos como bacterias u hongos. Revisando artculos cientficos de los aos recientes Javier Cruz Gmez encontr informes de biodegradacin de plsticos como poliuretano y polister. Entonces le sugiri a Herminia Loza Tavera, especialista en microbiologa del Departamento de Bioqumica de la misma facultad, que buscaran juntos bacterias con esta capacidad. Herminia recuerda que la idea fue ir a un tiradero de basura donde hubiera poliuretano desechado y recoger algunas muestras. De eso se hizo cargo su entonces estudiante de maestra, Agustn Carillo Garca, quien visit el basurero ubicado en el Bordo de Xochiaca, en el municipio Nezahualcyotl, Estado de Mxico y de ah tom algunas muestras de hule espuma bastante deterioradas. Anywhere you look you will find something made of polyurethane. This plastic can be found in many forms, and skateboards skate wheels, noise insulation and heat, elastic parts car boards, window and door gaskets, and packing cushions. It dates back to the early days of World War II, when first developed as a replacement for rubber or rubber. It is so versatile that it has come to replace natural materials like wood. Polyurethane has a problem like other plastics, not recycled and does not biodegrade easily ... or at least that was believed until recently. A group of researchers from the Faculty of Chemistry, UNAM has found a bacterium that has the ability to degrade the plastic. Plastics

The properties of plastics are due to the structure of its molecules, which are formed of series of smaller molecules called monomers, which are repeated as the links of a chain. Materials with this structure are called polymers. The vast majority of plastics is constituted by carbon and hydrogen polymers, alone or in combination with oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine or sulfur. These materials are mainly obtained from petroleum organic compounds. E first synthetic polymer was Bakelite, created by Belgian chemist Leo Hendrink Bakeland in 1909. Baekeland phenol reacted. Formaldehyde and other ingredients under high temperature and pressure. The resulting material was used primarily to manufacture insulating fittings for electrical equipment such as radios and telephones. Thereafter began the development of a huge amount of different plastics: vinyl, polystyrene, acrylic, polyurethane and many others. Everyone has come to occupy a place in the industry and all have been a great commercial success. Flexible Foams On November 13, 1937 was published in Germany Patent DRP 728 981, concerning a production of polyurethane and polyurea. " The team of inventors who requested it was led by chemist Otto Bayer, who did not belong to the family of the same name which became famous for its innovations in chemistry. In that Bayer is recognized as the father of the polyurethane industry for inventing the basic process to obtain it. Even during the Second World War creatron numerous applications for the new material, such as mustard gas resistant clothing, nail aircraft and protective coatings for metal or wood, The Rise of polyurethanes is recorded into the 1950s, with the emergence adhesives, elastomers and rigid foams. The best known, a soft flexible foam was only available commercially at the end of that decade. Because of its low cost, flexible foam, also known as foam, opened the door to a flood of applications, such as filling for mattresses and other furniture, auto parts, clothing, tennis equipment, insulation and framing. Today, nearly three-quarters of polyurethane products are consumed as foams. Be in the construction industry, the dress or the manufacture of cars and tires, has been a useful material, tough and durable. Unfortunately, their characteristic resistance to environmental and biological degradation, initially constituted his most attractive quality has become an ecological nightmare. In wet conditions, the polyurethane can take over a century to decompose. Incinerate it is not a good alternative because when burned produces highly toxic waste and pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and nitrogen cyanide. Hunters bacteria. The polyurethane articles can be recycled, but in general it is a secondary recycling, because the resulting material can not be used to manufacture products having the same value as the original articles. There are two ways of recycling: mechanical and chemical. In the mechanical recycling, wastes are comminuted polyurethane or pulverized for use in the production of new articles. In chemical recycling, in contrast,

seeks to decompose the material. There remains the problem of the safe handling of waste, in addition to other plastics to achieve a whopping five million tons per year just in the United States and Canada. Dr. Javier Cruz Gomez, a researcher in the Department of Chemical Engineering of the UNAM, said that for 10 years it is known that polyurethane can biodegrade. The biodegradation, unlike the recycling occurs by natural means by their intervention microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi. Reviewing scientific papers in recent years Javier Cruz Gomez found reports of biodegradable plastics such as polyurethane and polyester. Then he suggested to Herminia Loza Tavera, microbiologist, Department of Biochemistry of the same faculty, to seek together bacteria with this ability. Herminia recalls that the idea was to go to a landfill where it would cast polyurethane and collect some samples. That took his then graduate student, Agustin Garcia Carillo, who visited the landfill located in the Board of Xochiaca, municipality Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico State and then took some samples of foam rather dilapidated.