Production of biodegradeable plastic by <i>Bacillus</i> sp. using sugarcane baggase

Abstract

Plastic materials originated from petrochemicals causes serious environmental problems due to their non-degradable nature. Bio based polymers or biodegradable polymers are found to be better solution in terms of protecting the environment from petroleum based plastic products. Polyhydroxybutyrates (PHBs) are synthesized and deposited as cytoplasmic inclusions in various bacteria like Bacillus sp. Biodegradable plastic have been available for many years in the market, however, their high cost has meant they have not replaced the traditional non-degradable plastics. The aim of this research is to produce biodegradable plastic by Bacillus sp. using sugarcane bagasse. Pure culture of different isolates obtained from soil, were screened by sub culturing in a modified nutrient agar medium containing glucose and Nile Blue A stain to confirm that the isolated strain were capable of producing PHB. The strain was identified as Bacillus velezensis when subjected to molecular characterization. Optimization of growth parameter such as substrate concentration (0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 4%) and temperature (30, 35, 40, 45 and 50) for production of bioplastic, was further conducted. The maximum PHB accumulation when pretreated sugar cane bagasse was used as carbon source was at 30°C and pH 8.0 after 48h
incubations with total yield of 50.23%. Biodegradability test showed that soil borne
organism are capable of utilizing the PHB. The results of this study confirmed that cheaply
available agro-residues can be used for the production of PHB.