Fernandes, Isabel P.Barbosa, Mariana MartinhoAmaral, Joana S.Pinto, VeraFerreira, Maria JoséBarreiro, M.F.2017-04-122017-04-122014Fernandes, I.P.; Barbosa, M.; Amaral, J.S.; Pinto, V.; Ferreira, M.J.; Barreiro, M.F. (2014). Screening of different microorganisms for their biodegradation capacity regarding polyester-based thermoplastic polyurethanes. In 12th International Chemical and Biological Engineering Conference - CHEMPOR 2014. Porto, PORTUGAL978-972-752-170-8http://hdl.handle.net/10198/14225and bio-based solutions in shoe manufacturing, including the use of biodegradable materials. As a first step towards the proposal of such solutions, in this work different microorganisms were screened for their intrinsic capacity to degrade a base TPU. The biodegradability was tested using the agar plate method against different bacteria, fungi and a consortium of both. The most promising results, corresponding to higher weight-loss percentages of the TPU sample, were obtained using the consortium of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Aspergillus niger. These best conditions were thereafter applied to TPU samples compounded with biobased additives.engPolyester-based thermoplastic polyurethanesBiodegradationconference object