Synergistic growth of Bacillus and Pseudomonas and its degradation potential on pretreated polypropylene |
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| Authors: | Adithan Aravinthan Ambika Arkatkar Asha A Juwarkar |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India;2. College of Veterinary Medicine, Biosafety Research Institute, Chonbuk National University, Jeollabuk-Do, South Korea;3. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nehru Marg, Nagpur, India |
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| Abstract: | This study investigated biodegradation of physically pretreated polypropylene (PP) by using two different combinations of microorganisms, namely, Bacillus flexus + Pseudomonas azotoformans(B1) and B. flexus + B. subtilis(B2), for a period of 12 months. The growth rate of (B1) was found to be high throughout the study period, and reached a maximum of 1 × 1014 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL. At the end of the experiment, the polymers become hydrophilic. Carbonyl indices showed that ultraviolet (UV)-treated polymers started degrading faster than the thermally treated PP. The thermogravimetric analysis also revealed that UV-treated PP exposed to the B. flexus + P. azotoformans combination for 1 year exhibited maximum degradation (22.7%). The gravimetric weight loss method showed 1.95% weight loss followed by 1.45% with B. flexus + B. subtilis. The changes in the carbonyl indices of the polymer through Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis also support the degradation. |
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| Keywords: | Biofilm CLSM FTIR P azotoformans polypropylene TGA |
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