Studies on the Influence of Mixed Culture from Buried Soil Sample for Biodegradation of Sago Starch Filled Natural Rubber Latex Gloves

Abstract

The addition of sago starch into natural rubber (NR) latex compounds was aimed to accelerate the degradation process of the end products including gloves as an alternative to reduce solid waste disposal problem. In this research work, the degradation of sago starch filled natural rubber (SS/NR) latex gloves by a mixed culture from buried soil sample was investigated. The Gram staining test of mixed culture showed the Gram-negative bacteria are the dominant species as an effective bacterium to degrade the SS/NR latex gloves. The starch hydrolysis test was performed to confirm the existence of starch-degrading bacteria in mixed culture that consume sago starch from the gloves. Based on the biodegradation rate results obtained, the existence of starch-degrading bacteria together with rubber-degrading bacteria were observed, which accelerate the biodegradation of SS/NR latex gloves by 53.68%. Meanwhile, the biodegradation rate for sago starch unfilled natural rubber (control) latex gloves were only 50.31%. Thus, the addition of sago starch has shown an increased in the biodegradation rate, which can be used as alternative method to overcome the solid waste disposal problem.