Abstract
The modern world in the present era made life miserable due to extensive usage of plastic. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is widely consumed in every part of the world starting from baby products to garbage bags. Humans and animals are affected due to the usage and disposal of LDPE in the environment. To safeguard the environment from deleterious effects, biodegradation of LDPE was studied by isolating a potent Streptomyces werraensis SDJM strain from garbage soil. The degradation assessment was performed to identify the LDPE degraded compounds such as octane, decane, tetracosane, hexacosane, dotriacontene, tetratiacontene, tridecone, tetracontane, and pentacosane, using a sophisticated technique - liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LCMS). The end product of LDPE biodegradation, carbon dioxide was measured by the GCMS-SPME technique. Field trials in garbage soil for a period of three months reveal 71.26% weight loss compared to laboratory test results where the weight loss was 60.05%. The morphological changes and structural changes of the polymer in fields were assessed by SEM analysis and FTIR analysis after one month of incubation. The test results in field trials were promising and convincing to overcome the LDPE pollution in presence of S.werraensis SDJM strain.
Highlights
Low-density polyethylene is a synthetic polymer that plays a vital role in every facet of human life, primarily for packaging food, computer components, dispensing bottles, laboratory equipment, garbage bags, etc
This study aims to investigate the role of microorganisms from garbage soil to degrade low-density polyethylene under both laboratory and field conditions
These two sophisticated techniques prove that S.werraensis SDJM has the capacity to degrade Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) in a short period of time
Summary
Low-density polyethylene is a synthetic polymer that plays a vital role in every facet of human life, primarily for packaging food (milk, cereals, pulses, and vegetables), computer components, dispensing bottles, laboratory equipment, garbage bags, etc. LDPE, a polyolefin is produced from olefin (alkene) monomers because olefins contain a reactive double bond. Disposal of LDPE through landfills and incineration creates huge environmental pollution (Einas & Hago 2014, Ingavale & Raut 2018). Polyethylene waste disposed into oceans disperse all over the water due to buoyancy and is considered as hazardous waste killing aquatic habitat. Incineration of polyethylene waste such as trash bags, grain storage bags, and shopping bags under an open atmosphere at low to high temperatures release toxic fumes such as methane and carbon monoxides that pollute the environment and cause significant health hazards. Some of the significant VOCs released at the time of incineration are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs,) and dioxins which are major carcinogenic hazards to humans (Environment Pollution Board 433 2012)
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