Biodegradation of Polyethylene Polymer Using the Microbe Bacillus sp.

One of the most common plastics that are released into the environment is polyethylene. The study investigates physical and biological strategies for accelerating the biodegradation of polyethylene. The ability of the bacterial species Bacillus sp. to use polyethylene as their only carbon source was examined. The surface-active substances (Biosurfactants) produced by the microbial species speed up the decomposition procedure. A much faster rate of biodegradation is possible when polymer films are exposed to ultraviolet radiation before use. This helps make the material more accessible to microorganisms as food. Bacillus sp. was added to pretreatment polyethylene films of thickness 18, and the combination produced the most effective weight loss, with a rate of 9.26% on some days.