Abstract
Plastic polymers are petroleum-derived synthetic materials that have multiple uses in everyday life, but their excessive production has led to the accumulation of approximately 1,000 million tons of residues, causing negative ecological impacts. This study analyzed the biological degradation in liquid medium of polyurethane, polystyrene, and polyethylene samples by filamentous fungi isolated from Antarctica. The plastic samples were used without pretreatment or pretreated with an artificial aging UV chamber according to ASTM G155 for 500 h, inoculated or not with the Antarctic fungi (Penicillium, Geomyces, Mortierella species). Samples were incubated at 18°C for 90 days to determine potential fungal biodegradation. The physical-chemical and biological degradation of plastics were evaluated by analyzing the weight loss in function of time, and by determining possible changes in the chemical structure, using the technique of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The polymers exposed to the artificial aging chamber resulted in the oxidative degradation of plastics (detected by morphological and structural changes), which favored their biodegradation. Out of the three fungal strains, Penicillium spp. presented the highest degradation percentage in aged plastics corresponding to 28.3% in polyurethane, and to 8.39 and 3.53% in polystyrene and low-density polyethylene, respectively. Key words: Plastic aging, polymers, filamentous fungi, fungal biodegradation, deterioration.
Highlights
Plastic polymers derived from fossil petroleum sources are used in the manufacture of short time disposable products which represent one of the main components of solid wastes
The present study evaluated the ability of three fungal strains to use low density polyethylene sheet (LDPE), PS, and PU as the only carbon source
Not all polymers were biodegraded as occurred for LDPE and PS that only accounted in a biodeterioration process
Summary
Plastic polymers derived from fossil petroleum sources are used in the manufacture of short time disposable products which represent one of the main components of solid wastes. The problem caused by plastic waste can be solved by adding pro-oxidants or biologically degradable polymers during manufacturing, allowing their deterioration in the environment in less time (Chiellini et al, 2007). Another alternative is related to the use of microorganisms able to biodegrade some plastic polymers effectively (Bonhomme et al, 2003; Hermann et al, 2011). Plastic deterioration is related to the conditions of exposition Environmental factors such as light, heat and/or biological activity induce changes in the functional properties of polymers, causing the rupture of bonds and chemical transformations. Scientific reports indicate that the biological degradation of polymers depends on the polymer characteristics, the nature of the applied pretreatments, the polymer surface area, the type and microbial activity, as well as temperature, humidity, and nutrient availability (Bonhomme et al, 2003; Wu et al, 2017)
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