2023-05-11 04:15:18
Microbes capable of digesting plastic at low temperatures have been discovered by scientists in the Alps and the Arctic. This can help with recycling.
Many microorganisms that can do this have already been found, but usually they can only degrade plastic at temperatures above 30°C. This means that their use in industrial practice is very expensive due to the energy expended. This also means that their use is not carbon neutral.
Scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute (WSL) have found a bacteria that can recycle plastic at 15°C. The results of scientific work were published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology.
Dr. Joel Ruti of WSL and colleagues took samples of 19 strains of bacteria and 15 fungi growing on buried plastic stored in the ground for one year in Greenland, Svalbard and the mountains of Switzerland.
The microbes were then grown as single strain cultures in the laboratory in the dark at 15°C. Further testing showed whether they could digest various types of plastic.
So, bacterial strains of 13 genera (actinobacteria and proteobacteria), and fungi from 10 genera (ascomycota and mucoromycota) were able to digest plastic.
They were able to degrade the following types of plastic: biodegradable polyethylene (PE), biodegradable polyester-polyurethane (PUR), and two biodegradable blends of polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) and polylactic acid (PLA).
None of the strains could digest PE even after 126 days. But 19 strains (56%), including 11 fungi and 8 bacteria, were able to digest polyurethane, and 14 fungi and 3 bacteria were able to digest PBAT and PLA plastic blends.
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