Abstract
Polythene and plastic waste are found to accumulate in the environment, posing a major ecological threat. They are found to be considered non-degradable, once it enters the environment it has been found to remain there indefinitely. However, significant attention has been placed on biodegradable polymer, identification of microbes with degradative potential on plastic material. The aim of the present investigation was to biodegrade low-density polyethylene (LDPE) using potential fungi isolated from landfill soil. Based on 18S rRNA analyses the isolated strain was identified as Aspergillus clavatus. LDPE degradation by A. clavatus was monitored for 90 days of incubation in aqueous medium. The degradation was confirmed by changes in polyethylene weight, CO2 evolution by Strum test, infrared spectra and morphological changes by SEM and AFM analysis.
Highlights
During the past decade polyethylene materials have gained widespread use in various fields and have become indispensables
The low-density polyethylene (LDPE) was incubated with Aspergillus clavatus which served as the test and LDPE without the fungal strain served as the control
Strain JASK1 was selected for LDPE degradation studies
Summary
During the past decade polyethylene materials have gained widespread use in various fields and have become indispensables. They offer a number of advantages over other materials being versatile, light weight, low cost, strong and potentially transparent and are ideally suited
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