Degradation of abiotically aged LDPE films containing pro-oxidant by bacterial consortium

Biodegradation of Low Density Polythene (LDPE) by Pseudomonas Species

“…Norman et al [7] and Tadros et al [12] have previously reported on the biodegradability potential of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens and fungi Penicillium simplicissimum on synthetic plastics. Concurrently, it has also been postulated that the biodegradation of any synthetic material initiates with the colonization of microorganism on the surface of the material [8]. Also, the evidence of increased bacterial adhesion on LDPE surface coupled with certain additives such as starch and pro-oxidants by Scanning electron microscopy has been previously reported [2,8].…”

“…Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide [8]. After their use, these packaging materials are dumped in landfills leading to pollution since they are non-biodegradable under natural environmental conditions [1].…”

“…One of the major strategies to facilitate disintegration and subsequent degradation is by direct degradation of LDPE by microorganisms using only the polymer as sole carbon source [8]. Several previous studies have reported on biodegradation of polythene by bacterial [2,11] and fungal species [2,4,13] It has been reported that Pseudomonas spp.…”

“…Concurrently, it has also been postulated that the biodegradation of any synthetic material initiates with the colonization of microorganism on the surface of the material [8]. Also, the evidence of increased bacterial adhesion on LDPE surface coupled with certain additives such as starch and pro-oxidants by Scanning electron microscopy has been previously reported [2,8]. Though, it is known that some Pseudomonas strains can degrade polythene, a comparative analysis on the degradation potency of polythene by Pseudomonas spp.…”

“…This study reports on the degradation of polythene by four different strains of Pseudomonas spp. Biodegradation is characterized by a loss in weight of the samples, change in tensile strength (TS), variation in physical and chemical properties, carbon dioxide production, change in molecular weight distribution and bacterial counts, changes in infra red (IR) spectrum of the sample after biotic exposure [2,8]. Also, the rate of biodegradation has been reported to be affected by irradiation with UV light and chemicals [8], by surface area [1], by antioxidant [3], by additives and also by the molecular weight of the plastic [5].…”