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Synergistic degradation of PBAT poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) co-polyesters using a bacterial co-culture system

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Abstract

Poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) has been extensively used in every field of life, but the PBAT hydrolyzing microorganisms had rarely been studied. In this project, the synergistic degradation effect of bacteria identified from the farm soil of Shaanxi village yuan Jia cun was studied. To improve the degradation of PBAT, a co-culture system was made using SUST B1, SUST B2, and SUST B3. It was noted that the synergistic degradation of PBAT days was greater as compared to the monoculture system. Maximum lipase activity was observed after 6 days of incubation, the lipase activity (24.3 U/mL) of the co-culture surpassed the monoculture which was substantially complex as compared to individual bacterium SUST B1 (9.42 U/mL), SUST B2 (10.1 U/mL), and SUST B3 (8.7 U/mL) degrading 26.1% of PBAT. These results were further confirmed using XRD, FTIR, and SEM analysis. The mechanism of PBAT degradation was also studied using LC/MS. PBAT degradation is comprised of numerous phases that generate oligomers, dimers, and monomers. The microorganisms secreted the PBAT-degrading lipase that catalyzes the ester bonds present in the PBAT backbone and convert it into respective monomers like terephthalic acid, 1, 4-butanediol, and adipic acid. Microbes then uptake them to fulfill their carbon need and degrade them. Hence, PBAT bioremediation can be accomplished by a co-culture system. This is the first study to report the synergistic degradation of PBAT in the co-culture system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi’an, 710021, China

    Aqsa kanwal, Min Zhang & Faisal Sharaf

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  1. Aqsa kanwal
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  2. Min Zhang
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  3. Faisal Sharaf
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Correspondence to Min Zhang.

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kanwal, A., Zhang, M. & Sharaf, F. Synergistic degradation of PBAT poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) co-polyesters using a bacterial co-culture system. Polym. Bull. 81, 2741–2755 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-023-04849-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-023-04849-8

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