Mocrobial Degradation of Flexible Polyurethane Foams by Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus terreus

摘要

The ability of the fungi, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus terreus, to degrade palm-based flexible polyurethane foam was determined via the petri dish and shake flask tests. A dense fungal growth was detected by visual examination of foams inoculatedon minimal nutrient agar/solution (MN) but not on the mineral salts agar/solution (MS). Both the palm-based and commercial flexible polyurethane foams incubated on MN suffered significant weight losses while slight increases were recorded by the samplesincubated on MS. Under a scanning electron microscope (SEM), dense fungal growth was observed covering the samples incubated on MN but none on the samples incubated on MS. Palm-based foams were degraded much faster than the commercial foams in the shakeflask test with A. terreus as shown by higher weight losses, deterioration and even complete decomposition of the samples. Complete decomposition of palm-based foam showed that it could be degraded in the environment in the presence of A. niger or A. terreus, with sufficient nutrients and maximum contact between the fungi and the foams.