Bacterial Conversion of Polyethylene to Value Added Products

Abstract

Plastic pollution has emerged as one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time, posing significant threats to ecosystems, human health, and the overall wellbeing of our planet. This escalating problem can be attributed to the remarkable versatility, durability, and low cost of plastic materials, which have led to their pervasive use in various aspects of modern life. Through characterizing and identification methods, this study aimed to identify two environmental strains that degrade plastic, TP1 and Orange A, that were isolated from the environment. The study found that they belong to two common bacterial genera, Pseudomonas and Pseudoxanthomonas. These strains' competency to survive and thrive on PE as the sole carbon source has been investigated, and they exhibited a notable potential to survive this complicated carbon source for over five days on a small scale. These strains were also characterized and identified using microscopy, morphology, and phylogenetic tree analysis, and it was found that the strains have relationships with other common strains, such as TP1 with Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, and more. However, some limitations and time challenges have prevented this study from obtaining more valuable and vital data showing evidence of plastic biodegradation, supporting the claim they had a good potential to grow on PE relatively, and more to be discussed in the report.