Investigation of two different size microplastic degradation ability of thermophilic bacteria using polyethylene polymers

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Tarih

2023

Dergi Başlığı

Dergi ISSN

Cilt Başlığı

Yayıncı

Taylor & Francis Ltd

Erişim Hakkı

info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess

Özet

There are several studies stating that many types of microplastics cannot be retained completely by conventional wastewater treatment systems. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the discharge of these microplastics to the ecological system. The objective of this study was to investigate the biodegradation ability of two different size of PE (50 and 150 mu m) by using two Gram-positive, spore-forming, rod-shaped, and motile thermophilic bacteria, called strain Gecek4 and strain ST5, which can hydrolyse starch, were isolated from the soil's samples of Gecek and omer hot-springs in Afyonkarahisar, Turkey, respectively. Phenotypic features and 16S rRNA analyzing of strains also studied. According to these results, Gecek4s and ST5 were identified as Anoxybacillus flavithermus Gecek4s and Bacillus firmus ST5, respectively. Results showed that A. flavithermus Gecek4s could colonise the polymer surface and cause surface damage whereas B. firmus ST5 could not degrade bigger-sized particles efficiently. In addition, morphological changes on microplastic surface were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) where dimensional changes, irregularities, crack, and/or holes were detected. This finding suggests that there is a high potential to develop an effective integrated method for plastic bags degradation by extracellular enzymes from bacteria.

Açıklama

Anahtar Kelimeler

Biodegredation, microplastic degradation, polyethylene, thermophilic bacteria

Kaynak

Environmental Technology

WoS Q Değeri

Q3

Scopus Q Değeri

Q1

Cilt

44

Sayı

24

Künye