Evaluación de biodegradación de plásticos de un solo uso a partir de un Consorcio de Microorganismo

Abstract

The excessive use of plastic in Guayaquil has forced the authorities to take measures and create a progressive law that regulates single-use plastic from its manufacture to its commercialization. This law mentions that it must be replaced by 100% biodegradable material. Therefore, we propose an evaluation of the biodegradation of single-use plastic from specific doses of a commercial consortium of microorganisms by analyzing change in the biomass. A two-factor experiment was designed to study the interaction between concentrations of 0.5 mg/100 mL and 1 mg/100 mL of the commercial consortium of microorganisms with three materials: normal plate, photooxidized plate and sugarcane-based plate. The results showed that, with an incubation period of one month, the dose of 0.5 mg/100 mL successfully colonized all the materials, generating an increase of 2.24% in the biomass of the normal plate and 2.47% in the photooxidized plate. On the other hand, the dose of 1mg/100 mL generated a 1.7% increase in the biomass of the photooxidized plate and a 1.2% decrease in the normal plate. It can be concluded that the photooxidation treatment was the most affected because the porosity of the plastic makes it more susceptible to bacteria colonization and biofilm formation. Finally, the biodegradation process is the result of the microorganisms taking advantage of the plastic as the only source of carbon.