EFFECT OF STARCH PRETREATMENT ON THE MICROBIAL DEGRADATION OF LOW DENSITY POLYETHENE CARRIER BAGS

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorTAFIDA, THERESA AISHATU
dc.date.accessioned2014-02-28T14:29:49Z
dc.date.available2014-02-28T14:29:49Z
dc.date.issued2013-02
dc.descriptionA THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN MICROBIOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY FACULTY OF SCIENCE AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, NIGERIA FEBRUARY, 2013en_US
dc.description.abstractIn this study, a cassava starch/low density polyethene (LDPE) blend was compounded and the effect of this starch pretreatment on the rate of degradation of synthetic polyethene carrier bags was tested using bacteria and fungi (as singles and as consortia) isolated from dump sites. Weight loss and Fourier Transformed Infra Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) were used as analytical techniques for measuring biodegradation. Fungi was found to degrade both synthetic LDPE and LDPE/Starch blend resulting in a weight loss of 3.54% to 19.68% while that obtained from bacteria gave a weight loss of 1.0% to 18.5% within 30days . Mixed cultures comprising of both bacteria and fungi gave better results than the individual organisms and addition of starch was found to greatly enhance the biodegradation of the low density polyethene carrier bags. FTIR analysis showed the appearance of carbonyl groups in the LDPE residues after microbial treatments between wavelengths of 1703.67cm-1 and 1872.83cm-1 indicating likely oxidation of the carbon-carbon double bond (C=C) and various oxidation products formed during the biodegradation. This study therefore shows that microorganisms with the ability to degrade low density polyethene carrier bags exist in our natural environment. It has also shown that blending LDPE with natural polymers such as starch can greatly enhance the biodegradation of this polymer and that microbial consortia can accelerate the rate of degradation of this polymer. Therefore finding the right microorganisms and/or their enzymes that can efficiently and completely biodegrade the recalcitrant polyethylene into carbon dioxide, water and biomass will go a long way in solving this global threat and studying the synergism between them will give more insight for future efforts towards the bio degradation of these polymersen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2996
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subjectEFFECT,en_US
dc.subjectSTARCH PRETREATMENT,en_US
dc.subjectMICROBIAL,en_US
dc.subjectDEGRADATION,en_US
dc.subjectLOW DENSITY POLYETHENE CARRIER BAGS.en_US
dc.titleEFFECT OF STARCH PRETREATMENT ON THE MICROBIAL DEGRADATION OF LOW DENSITY POLYETHENE CARRIER BAGSen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
EFFECT OF STARCH PRETREATMENT ON THE MICROBIAL DEGRADATION OF LOW DENSITY POLYETHENE CARRIER BAGS.pdf
Size:
8.03 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.58 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
SCIENCE