An approach to polymer degradation through microbes

Abstract

Inertness and indiscriminate uses as well as growing water and land pollution problems have lead to concern about plastics. Present paper investigates the possibility of plastic degradation by microbes isolated from forest soil and automobile wash- out sludge. The in-vivo degradation was studied by litter bag experiment by taking 1 g of each plastic and buried under forest soil and automobile wash-out sludge at a depth of 15 cm from the surface during the month of September to February, 2010- 2011. An in-vitro experiment was started after collecting the plastic samples from the litter bag experiment and the microbes were isolated from the surface of the plastic. Then the isolated microbes inoculated in the Burk's medium without carbon source in two sets, one with plastic and the other with polyethylene glycol (PEG). Result showed that no variety of plastic comfortable degraded under burial condition during six months. But interesting result was recorded from Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) study. The preliminary screening of biodegradation capability was done by Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) Spectroscopy for surface changes. Again, degradation of PEG by microbes clearly indicates their existence in the said medium. Therefore it can be speculated that microbes has enough potential to degrade plastic with due course of time.