Biodegradation efficacy of soil inherent novel sp. Bacillus tropicus (MK318648) onto low density polyethylene matrix
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Biodegradation efficacy of soil inherent novel sp. Bacillus tropicus (MK318648) onto low density polyethylene matrix Sucharita Samanta1 · Deepshikha Datta2 · Gopinath Halder1 Received: 14 May 2020 / Accepted: 16 September 2020 / Published online: 3 October 2020 © The Polymer Society, Taipei 2020
Abstract The biodegradation of low density polyethylene (LDPE) was studied by employing a microbial strain isolated from the dumping site soil. The bacterium strain was identified as Bacillus tropicus (Gen Bank Accession no: MK318648) by 16S rRNA sequencing. The growth of the strain was observed on virgin LDPE during the biodegradation process. The change in properties of LDPE films before and after bacterial strain incubation was observed by FTIR, SEM, AFM, contact angle, mechanical and optical testing. Loss in mechanical properties and changes in optical properties of the polymer matrix was observed. Weight reduction by 10.15% and fall in the value of tensile strength, elongation at break, tear strength, Young’s Modulus, hardness and stiffness to 8.59 MPa, 10.85 mm, 69.18 N, 272.36, 37.6 Shor D and 10,672.21 N/m respectively were observed after 40 days of incubation. The transparency and haze percentage were also changed to 93.7% and 18.6% respectively after the study period. The pH of the media was measured during incubation to evaluate the change due to formation of different extracellular and intracellular enzymes excreted by the strain. Hence, Bacillus tropicus could be an efficient microorganism to degrade 10-micron thickness LDPE films, thereby preventing its harmful impacts in the environment. Keyword LDPE · Isolation · Bacillus tropicus · Microbial degradation · Weight reduction
Introduction Over the last few decades, the uncontrolled use of synthetic polymers has tremendously provoked a vulnerable ecological threat and caused worldwide anxiety. Synthetic polymers have entered in our day to day life and everywhere quickly due to its availability, durability, resistivity, and low cost. Each year around 140 million tons of synthetic polymers are accumulated around the planet [1]. Almost 8,000,000 tons of plastic products are consumed in India alone every year according to an immediate evaluation of the Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi, India [2]. People often dispose of the widely used polymer materials unconsciously, which generate pollution in the air, water bodies as well as in soil. The estimation from a computed ratio implies that * Gopinath Halder [email protected] 1
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Durgapur, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Durgapur, West Bengal 713209, India
Department of Chemical Engineering, GMR Institute of Technology, Rajam, Andhra Pradesh 532127, India
2
LDPE degradation is very slow and it takes almost 300 years to decay completely under the natural condition of the ecosystem [3]. The packaging industry suffers a huge demand for thin plastics (less than 30-micron) for various applications like disposable shopping b
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