MICROBIAL DEGRADATION OF LOW-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE (LDPE) BY FUNGUS ISOLATED FROM LANDFILL SOIL

Abstract

Plastics are natural or synthetic represent the class of polymeric substances. A stable increase in the use of plastic products has accelerated the pollution. Several attempts have been made to control the problem at large by resorting to both chemical and biological methods. Eradication of pollution by chemical methods leads to many side effects such as, release of toxic chemicals and gases into the atmosphere. Therefore an alternative method must be identified and it should be eco-friendly manner. Hence a current study is focused on identify the biological method for the degradation of plastics without any side effects. Low density polyethylene polymer can be degraded by microorganisms or enzymes by means of cutting down the molecular chains. A low density polyethylene (LDPE) is one of the hazardous polymers used for the present study and makes it degrade fully in a rapid manner. There are two fungal strains Aspergillus sp. and Xylaria sp. were identified for their high degradable activity. After 30 days of incubation the efficacy of fungal isolates for their polymer degradation was determined through various parameters such as pH variation, Optical Density of the culture and estimation of CO2 during degradation process.