Microbial solutions for plastic pollutants: Caprolactam, Polyvinyl alcohol, and surgical face masks

Caprolactam and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) are plastic pollutants that in excess concentrations affect the environment adversely. The purpose of this study was to identify the microorganisms with the potential to break down biodegradable polyvinyl alcohol synthetic plastic polymer caprolactam, and face...

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Main Authors: Ashvini Vetal, Kiran Patil, Apurva Pawar, Gayatri Atre, Aparna Gunjal, Meghmala Waghmode
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Ruhuna 2023-12-01
Series:Ruhuna Journal of Science
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Online Access:https://www.rjs.ruh.ac.lk/index.php/rjs/article/view/5579/397
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author Ashvini Vetal
Kiran Patil
Apurva Pawar
Gayatri Atre
Aparna Gunjal
Meghmala Waghmode
author_facet Ashvini Vetal
Kiran Patil
Apurva Pawar
Gayatri Atre
Aparna Gunjal
Meghmala Waghmode
author_sort Ashvini Vetal
collection DOAJ
description Caprolactam and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) are plastic pollutants that in excess concentrations affect the environment adversely. The purpose of this study was to identify the microorganisms with the potential to break down biodegradable polyvinyl alcohol synthetic plastic polymer caprolactam, and face masks. Caprolactam and PVA-degrading bacteria were isolated from the soil. The identification of the isolate was done using morphological, biochemical and 16S rRNA sequencing and identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Colorimetric and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed the degradation of 61 and 96 % caprolactam (1%) and PVA (0.1%) respectively by the isolate. The degradative product of caprolactam and polyvinyl alcohol was identified as adipic acid and fumaric acid based on the mass spectroscopic analysis. Field emission scanning electron microscopy of the control and bacterial-treated face mask was carried out to check the degradation potential of the strain. Microbial face mask degradation showed 97.89 % reduction in the diameter of fibers, which proved the potential use of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the remediation of bioplastic, synthetic and microplastic polluted areas.
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institution DOAJ
issn 2536-8400
language English
publishDate 2023-12-01
publisher University of Ruhuna
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series Ruhuna Journal of Science
spelling doaj-art-4d30ff9c5b8546f1b017bd0994d12d082025-08-20T02:53:19ZengUniversity of RuhunaRuhuna Journal of Science2536-84002023-12-0114212914410.4038/rjs.v14i2.140Microbial solutions for plastic pollutants: Caprolactam, Polyvinyl alcohol, and surgical face masksAshvini Vetal0Kiran Patil1Apurva Pawar2Gayatri Atre3Aparna Gunjal 4Meghmala Waghmode5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5635-134XDepartment of Microbiology, PDEA’s Annasaheb Magar Mahavidyalaya, Hadapsar, Pune 411018, Maharashtra, India.Department of Microbiology, PDEA’s Annasaheb Magar Mahavidyalaya, Hadapsar, Pune 411018, Maharashtra, India.Department of Microbiology, PDEA’s Annasaheb Magar Mahavidyalaya, Hadapsar, Pune 411018, Maharashtra, India.Department of Microbiology, PDEA’s Annasaheb Magar Mahavidyalaya, Hadapsar, Pune 411018, Maharashtra, India.Department of Microbiology, Dr. D.Y. Patil Arts, Commerce and Science College, Pimpri, Pune 411018, Maharashtra, IndiaDepartment of Microbiology, PDEA’s Annasaheb Magar Mahavidyalaya, Hadapsar, Pune 411018, Maharashtra, India.Caprolactam and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) are plastic pollutants that in excess concentrations affect the environment adversely. The purpose of this study was to identify the microorganisms with the potential to break down biodegradable polyvinyl alcohol synthetic plastic polymer caprolactam, and face masks. Caprolactam and PVA-degrading bacteria were isolated from the soil. The identification of the isolate was done using morphological, biochemical and 16S rRNA sequencing and identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Colorimetric and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed the degradation of 61 and 96 % caprolactam (1%) and PVA (0.1%) respectively by the isolate. The degradative product of caprolactam and polyvinyl alcohol was identified as adipic acid and fumaric acid based on the mass spectroscopic analysis. Field emission scanning electron microscopy of the control and bacterial-treated face mask was carried out to check the degradation potential of the strain. Microbial face mask degradation showed 97.89 % reduction in the diameter of fibers, which proved the potential use of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the remediation of bioplastic, synthetic and microplastic polluted areas.https://www.rjs.ruh.ac.lk/index.php/rjs/article/view/5579/397caprolactamface maskmicroplasticpolyvinyl alcoholpseudomonas
spellingShingle Ashvini Vetal
Kiran Patil
Apurva Pawar
Gayatri Atre
Aparna Gunjal
Meghmala Waghmode
Microbial solutions for plastic pollutants: Caprolactam, Polyvinyl alcohol, and surgical face masks
Ruhuna Journal of Science
caprolactam
face mask
microplastic
polyvinyl alcohol
pseudomonas
title Microbial solutions for plastic pollutants: Caprolactam, Polyvinyl alcohol, and surgical face masks
title_full Microbial solutions for plastic pollutants: Caprolactam, Polyvinyl alcohol, and surgical face masks
title_fullStr Microbial solutions for plastic pollutants: Caprolactam, Polyvinyl alcohol, and surgical face masks
title_full_unstemmed Microbial solutions for plastic pollutants: Caprolactam, Polyvinyl alcohol, and surgical face masks
title_short Microbial solutions for plastic pollutants: Caprolactam, Polyvinyl alcohol, and surgical face masks
title_sort microbial solutions for plastic pollutants caprolactam polyvinyl alcohol and surgical face masks
topic caprolactam
face mask
microplastic
polyvinyl alcohol
pseudomonas
url https://www.rjs.ruh.ac.lk/index.php/rjs/article/view/5579/397
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AT apurvapawar microbialsolutionsforplasticpollutantscaprolactampolyvinylalcoholandsurgicalfacemasks
AT gayatriatre microbialsolutionsforplasticpollutantscaprolactampolyvinylalcoholandsurgicalfacemasks
AT aparnagunjal microbialsolutionsforplasticpollutantscaprolactampolyvinylalcoholandsurgicalfacemasks
AT meghmalawaghmode microbialsolutionsforplasticpollutantscaprolactampolyvinylalcoholandsurgicalfacemasks