| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2023 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Biological Materials Science
|
| Presentation Title |
Biodegradation of Petroleum-based Plastic Using Bacillus sp. |
| Author(s) |
Rahulkumar Sunil Singh, Eddie Bryan Gilcrease, Ramesh Goel, Michael L Free, Prashant K Sarswat |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Prashant K Sarswat |
| Abstract Scope |
Over the last few decades, petroleum-based plastics have been used in an uncontrolled manner due to their attractive characteristics, posing severe environmental challenges that need to be immediately addressed. Literatures indicated some microorganisms for plastic degradation. Bacillus sp. was found capable of degrading various polymers such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), and polyurethane (PU). This study investigated the growth and morphological features of Bacillus sp. culture, and its ability to decompose untreated PP plastics using the mineral salt medium in an incubator shaker at 37°C with 120 rpm for 4 weeks. The bacterial growth was spectrophotometrically measured at OD595nm. pH and weight loss measurement provided the extent of plastic degradation. The significant increment in pH of the media towards alkalinity confirmed the degradation of the PP plastics. The preliminary results of 1 week and 4 weeks long incubation suggest that Bacillus sp. assisted plastic degradation might be a feasible approach for diminishing this environmental challenge. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Environmental Effects, Polymers, Sustainability |