Bio-Degradation of Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) by Fungi Isolated from Marine Water

摘要

Fungi isolated from sea water were subjected to growth in a medium containing LDPE as the sole carbon source with and without yeast extract. Increasing fresh weight of the fungi in the medium supplemented with LDPE after regular time intervals gave the evidence that the fungi are were utilizing LDPE as the carbon source. Further confirmation of LDPE utilization was carried out by the Sturm test where the degradation was attributed to the amount of carbon dioxide evolved during the growth period. The two fungi that showed good growth in medium supplemented with LDPE proved to degrade LDPE with higher efficiency that earlier reported results. Fungi were identified as Aspergillus sp., LDPE degradation is a severe environmental crisis in the world and we have proved that micro-organisms can be used for bio-remediation in this line.