The use of biodegradable single-use products, such as shopper bags, partially solves the problem of using common plastics, but these polymers end up to accumulate in urban waste management systems that are not specifically designed to handle them. Hence technological solutions that may increase the transformation yields of the process are needed. Fungi are well-known biocatalysts that can act against many xenobiotic including plastic polymers [1]. . The present study aimed to investigate the fungal biodiversity of the plastic waste collected during a composting system of urban wastes. Among the 59 isolated fungi, 34 fungi were isolated from the samples mid-process and 25 fungi at the end of the process. The fungal communities differed both quantitatively and qualitatively: more species were found in the mid-process samples than at the end of the process, 17 and 14 species respectively. With the only exception of 3 Mucoromycetes, all fungi were Ascomycetes. A solid screening using plastic bags as sole nutrient source was conducted, evaluating their growth rate. Only 17 strains transformed the polymers. Larger scale trails helped to select those fungi that strongly competed with the native microbiota. The pre-treated plastic were then used to run anaerobic digestion tests to assess whether the degradation kinetics are consistent with the digestion hydraulic retention time of the organic fraction. Plastic removal was analysed in terms of the presence of PBAT and its three building blocks. The results showed that fungal pre-treatment increases the degradation yield of bioplastics, being a solid based for future technology development.
Bioplastic transformation by fungi to be implemented in plastic management process
Federica Spina;Davide Ferrero;Giovanna Cristina Varese
2023-01-01
Abstract
The use of biodegradable single-use products, such as shopper bags, partially solves the problem of using common plastics, but these polymers end up to accumulate in urban waste management systems that are not specifically designed to handle them. Hence technological solutions that may increase the transformation yields of the process are needed. Fungi are well-known biocatalysts that can act against many xenobiotic including plastic polymers [1]. . The present study aimed to investigate the fungal biodiversity of the plastic waste collected during a composting system of urban wastes. Among the 59 isolated fungi, 34 fungi were isolated from the samples mid-process and 25 fungi at the end of the process. The fungal communities differed both quantitatively and qualitatively: more species were found in the mid-process samples than at the end of the process, 17 and 14 species respectively. With the only exception of 3 Mucoromycetes, all fungi were Ascomycetes. A solid screening using plastic bags as sole nutrient source was conducted, evaluating their growth rate. Only 17 strains transformed the polymers. Larger scale trails helped to select those fungi that strongly competed with the native microbiota. The pre-treated plastic were then used to run anaerobic digestion tests to assess whether the degradation kinetics are consistent with the digestion hydraulic retention time of the organic fraction. Plastic removal was analysed in terms of the presence of PBAT and its three building blocks. The results showed that fungal pre-treatment increases the degradation yield of bioplastics, being a solid based for future technology development.
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