It is worth noting that approximately one-third of the world’s plastic waste is polypropylene.
It is a durable plastic that has been used to make biodegradable bottle caps and food containers for hundreds of years.
Recently, scientists from the University of Sydney were able to completely decompose polypropylene in just 140 days using two types of microscopic fungi that live in the soil. Aspergillus terreus Engyodontium ate plastic materials during laboratory experiments.
An article on this topic was published in the Materials Degradation scientific journal.
To date, more than 400 microorganisms have been discovered that naturally degrade plastics, and fungi have attracted the attention of scientists because of their wide range of uses and powerful enzyme combinations.
At the basic chemical level, plastic is a chain of carbon atoms with different side chains that give each plastic material its unique properties. And there are so many different types of plastic that it’s almost impossible to recycle if you put them together. Most plastic waste is burned or thrown in landfills.
The fungus breaks down the plastic into simpler particles that can be absorbed or released. The method requires pretreating the material with ultraviolet light, heat or a chemical reagent.
The next step for researchers is to develop a type of technology that can be used on an industrial scale.
Source: Naoka. television
Source: Arabic RT
