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Assessment of sophorolipids assisted biodegradation of mixed microplastics by Brevibacillus parabrevis
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In a lab test, a natural compound called sophorolipids was added to help bacteria (Brevibacillus parabrevis) break down a mix of five common plastics. After 30 days, samples with the higher dose of sophorolipids and bacteria lost slightly more weight and showed chemical changes indicating more plastic breakdown than bacteria alone.
This study assessed the effect of sophorolipids (SLs) on the biodegradation of mixed microplastics (MMPs), including polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) by Brevibacillus parabrevis. Six incubation conditions were tested over 30 days with two concentrations of SLs (80 mg/L and 160 mg/L): (i) CTr (MMPs without inoculum), (ii) BTr (MMPs with inoculum), (iii) SL80_CTr (MMPs + SLs+no inoculum), (iv) SL80_BTr (MMPs + SLs with inoculum), (v) SL160_CTr (MMPs + SLs+no inoculum), and (vi) SL160_BTr (MMPs + SLs with inoculum). The degree of biodegradation was determined by weight loss%, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Maximum weight loss was observed in SL160_BTr (8.9%) with 1.15-fold increase compared to BTr (7.8%). FTIR revealed reduced peaks for aromatic C-H stretching peaks (3025 cm− 1), C = O stretching (1740 cm− 1), and C-O stretching (1100–1200 cm− 1), which signifies oxidation degradation and chain scission in BTr, SL80_BTr, and SL160_BTr. TGA profile demonstrated decomposition of MMPs with SLs by shifting the temperature 5–20 °C lower than the initial temperature and indicated slightly reduced thermal stability and polymer chain integrity. These findings indicate that addition of SLs could significantly play a role in accelerating the degradation of microplastics in the presence of such bacteria in the given environment.
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