Biosurfactants as facilitators in Biodegradation of Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE)

Low density polythene (LDPE) is amongst the highest produced synthetic plastic and also largely plagued with ineffective disposal management. Strategies to remedy its ineffective disposal have been underway and at the forefront is biodegradation due its positive environmental impact. This study reports on the preliminary investigation into surface chemistry using biosurfactants as facilitators for the biodegradation process of LDPE. Synthesized biosurfactants from isolated soil microbes, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were used in the biodegradation study along with pure cultures of the organisms themselves. 0.84mg/ml was the highest amount of biosurfactant synthesized under static conditions at 25°C. Supplementing with biosurfactants increased the biodegradation efficiency by at least 1.2 % compared to using the microbes alone during a 30 d incubation period. Percentage weight loss of LDPE bags was used as a measure of biodegradation in this study and 3.3% weight loss was the highest observed for a single organism when augmented with biosurfactants compared to 1.9% when used alone.