School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Michael Smith Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, The University of Manchester, Michael Smith Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
Waste Manag. 2019 Sep;97:105-114. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2019.07.042. Epub 2019 Aug 6.
Plastics are an indispensable material but also a major environmental pollutant. In contrast, biodegradable polymers have the potential to be compostable. The biodegradation of four polymers as discs, polycaprolactone (PCL), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), polylactic acid (PLA) and poly(1,4 butylene) succinate (PBS) was compared in soil and compost over a period of more than 10 months at 25 °C, 37 °C and 50 °C. Degradation rates varied between the polymers and incubation temperatures but PCL showed the fastest degradation rate under all conditions and was completely degraded when buried in compost and incubated at 50 °C after 91 days. Furthermore, PCL strips showed a significant reduction in tensile strength in just 2 weeks when incubated in compost >45 °C. Various fungal strains growing on the polymer surfaces were identified by sequence analysis. Aspergillus fumigatus was most commonly found at 25 °C and 37 °C, while Thermomyces lanuginosus, which was abundant at 50 °C, was associated with PCL degradation.
塑料是一种不可或缺的材料，但也是主要的环境污染物。相比之下，可生物降解聚合物具有可堆肥的潜力。在 25°C、37°C 和 50°C 的条件下，将四种聚合物（聚己内酯（PCL）、聚羟基丁酸酯（PHB）、聚乳酸（PLA）和聚丁二酸丁二醇酯（PBS））作为圆盘在土壤和堆肥中进行了为期 10 多个月的比较。在所有条件下，PCL 都表现出最快的降解速率，并且在 50°C 下埋在堆肥中 91 天后完全降解。此外，当在堆肥中 45°C 以上孵育时，PCL 条在短短 2 周内的拉伸强度就显著降低。通过序列分析鉴定了在聚合物表面生长的各种真菌菌株。在 25°C 和 37°C 下最常发现烟曲霉，而在 50°C 下丰富的嗜热丝孢菌与 PCL 降解有关。
