A Study on Comparison of Efficiency of Low-Density Polythene (LDPE) Degradation Under Aerobic and Anaerobic Conditions by Microorganisms Isolated from Soil

Authors

  • Ranjika Pallab Bhattacharya  Department of Biotechnology, Kishinchand Chellaram College, University of Mumbai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
  • Hajra A.S. Gupta  Department of Biotechnology, Kishinchand Chellaram College, University of Mumbai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32628/IJSRST218249

Keywords:

MALDI-TOF, plastic biodegradation, eco-friendly, Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Aspergillus.

Abstract

Plastic has many desirable properties and thus, possesses several varied applications. This has led to a rise in its production and over the years, it has caused plastic pollution. Biodegradation is an affordable and more environment-friendly method compared to the other techniques currently available to eliminate plastic. The aim of this study was to isolate LDPE degrading microbes from soil samples that were collected from 4 different sources in Mumbai and compare their respective LDPE % degradation rates. Isolation of potential plastic degraders was carried out on Bushnell Haas agar that was overlaid with LDPE strips. The final biodegradation rate was calculated by the weight loss reduction method after an incubation period of one month under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. For identification of the bacteria, gram staining and Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization- Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF) Mass Spectroscopy were performed and several colony characteristics were studied. For identification of fungi, Potato Dextrose agar containing chloramphenicol was used as the selective media, and Lacto Phenol Cotton Blue staining was performed. Two facultative anaerobic bacterial isolates, Bacillus sp. and Staphylococcus cohnii ssp. urealyticus with LDPE degradation rates of 9.8% and 5.57% respectively, and a highly aerobic fungus, Aspergillus niger, with a degradation rate of 12.13% were found. Fungi showed the maximum rate of biodegradation. Bacillus species exhibited an almost double degradation capacity as compared to that of Staphylococcus species. To improve the biodegradation capacity, the optimum conditions for microbial growth and enzyme production can be assessed and these findings can be applied commercially on a larger scale.

References

  1. Heap, B. (2009). Was there a scientific consensus about risks associated with the rising accumulation, deposition and interaction of multiple forms of plastics and leached additives in the environment? Preface. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 364(1526), 1971-1971.
  2. Mudgal, S., Lyons, L., Bain, J., Dias, D., Faninger, T., Johansson, L., ... & Bowyer, C. (2011). Plastic waste in the environment–Revised final report for European Commission DG environment. Bio Intelligence Service, 2047-062.
  3. Rathi, S. (2006). Alternative approaches for better municipal solid waste management in Mumbai, India. Waste management, 26(10), 1192-1200.
  4. Thompson, R. C., & Moore, C. J. (2009). FS vomSaal and SH Swan. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. B, 364, 2153-2166.
  5. Sighicelli, M., Pietrelli, L., Lecce, F., Iannilli, V., Falconieri, M., Coscia, L., ... & Zampetti, G. (2018). Microplastic pollution in the surface waters of Italian Subalpine Lakes. Environmental Pollution, 236, 645-651.
  6. Wilcox, C., Van Sebille, E., & Hardesty, B. D. (2015). Threat of plastic pollution to seabirds is global, pervasive, and increasing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(38), 11899-11904.
  7. Jeftic, L., Sheavly, S., Adler, E., & Meith, N. (2009). Marine litter: a global challenge.
  8. Gregory, M. R. (2009). Environmental implications of plastic debris in marine settings—entanglement, ingestion, smothering, hangers-on, hitch-hiking and alien invasions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1526), 2013-2025.
  9. Hirai, H., Takada, H., Ogata, Y., Yamashita, R., Mizukawa, K., Saha, M., ... & Ward, M. W. (2011). Organic micropollutants in marine plastics debris from the open ocean and remote and urban beaches. Marine pollution bulletin, 62(8), 1683-1692.
  10. Elordi, G., Lopez, G., Aguado, R., Olazar, M., & Bilbao, J. (2007). Catalytic pyrolysis of high density polyethylene on a HZSM-5 zeolite catalyst in a conical spouted bed reactor. International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering, 5(1).
  11. Barnes, D. K., Galgani, F., Thompson, R. C., & Barlaz, M. (2009). Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments. Philosophical transactions of the royal society B: biological sciences, 364(1526), 1985-1998.
  12. Re, V. (2019). Shedding light on the invisible: addressing the potential for groundwater contamination by plastic microfibers. Hydrogeology Journal, 27(7), 2719-2727.
  13. Ronca, S. (2017). Polyethylene. In Brydson's plastics materials (pp. 247-278). Butterworth-Heinemann.
  14. Verma, R., Vinoda, K. S., Papireddy, M., & Gowda, A. N. S. (2016). Toxic pollutants from plastic waste-a review. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 35, 701-708.
  15. Chae, Y., & An, Y. J. (2018). Current research trends on plastic pollution and ecological impacts on the soil ecosystem: A review. Environmental pollution, 240, 387-395.
  16. Hawkins, W. L. (1964). Thermal and oxidative degradation of polymers. Polymer Engineering & Science, 4(3), 187-192.
  17. Siracusa, V. (2019). Microbial degradation of synthetic biopolymers waste. Polymers, 11(6), 1066.
  18. Shah, A. A., Hasan, F., Hameed, A., & Ahmed, S. (2008). Biological degradation of plastics: a comprehensive review. Biotechnology advances, 26(3), 246-265.
  19. Asmita K, Shubhamsingh T, Tejashree S (2015) Isolation of plastic degrading micro-organisms from soil samples collected at various locations in Mumbai, India. Int Res J Envir Sci, 4:77-85.
  20. Optimum Conditions for LDPE Strips Biodegradation by Local Bacterial Isolates. (2015). Journal of International Environmental Application and Science, 10(4), 399–407.
  21. Saha, U. S., Misra, R., Tiwari, D., & Prasad, K. N. (2016). A cost-effective anaerobic culture method & its comparison with a standard method. The Indian journal of medical research, 144(4), 611.
  22. Difco & BBL. (2009). Nutrient agar. Difco & BBL Manual of Microbial Cell Culture, (July), 2–3. Retrieved from http://www.neogen.com/Acumedia/pdf/ProdInfo/7145_PI.pdf
  23. Wieser, A., Schneider, L., Jung, J., & Schubert, S. (2012). MALDI-TOF MS in microbiological diagnostics—identification of microorganisms and beyond (mini review). Applied microbiology and biotechnology, 93(3), 965-974.
  24. Aryal, S. (2018). Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA)- Principle, Uses, Composition, Procedure and Colony Characteristics.
  25. Raper, Kenneth Bryan, and Dorothy I. Fennell. "The genus Aspergillus." The genus Aspergillus. (1965).
  26. Das, M. P., & Kumar, S. (2014). Microbial deterioration of low density polyethylene by Aspergillus and Fusarium sp. Int J Chem Tech Res, 6(1), 299-305.
  27. Orr, I. G., Hadar, Y., & Sivan, A. (2004). Colonization, biofilm formation and biodegradation of polyethylene by a strain of Rhodococcus ruber. Applied microbiology and biotechnology, 65(1), 97-104.
  28. Croxatto, A., Prod'hom, G., & Greub, G. (2012). Applications of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry in clinical diagnostic microbiology. FEMS microbiology reviews, 36(2), 380-407.
  29. Shafique, S., Bajwa, R., & Shafique, S. (2009). Screening of Aspergillus niger and A. flavus strains for extra cellular alpha-amylase activity. Pak. J. Bot, 41(2), 897-905.
  30. Shamly, V., Kali, A., Srirangaraj, S., & Umadevi, S. (2014). Comparison of microscopic morphology of fungi using lactophenol cotton blue (LPCB), iodine glycerol and congo red formaldehyde staining. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research: JCDR, 8(7), DL01.

International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology

Downloads

Published

2021-04-30

Issue

Volume 8, Issue 2, March-April-2021

Section

Research Articles

License

Copyright (c) IJSRST

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

[1]
Ranjika Pallab Bhattacharya, Hajra A.S. Gupta "A Study on Comparison of Efficiency of Low-Density Polythene (LDPE) Degradation Under Aerobic and Anaerobic Conditions by Microorganisms Isolated from Soil" International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology(IJSRST), Online ISSN : 2395-602X, Print ISSN : 2395-6011,Volume 8, Issue 2, pp.326-334, March-April-2021. Available at doi : https://doi.org/10.32628/IJSRST218249