The promiscuous activity of alpha-amylase in biodegradation of low-density polyethylene in a polymer-starch blend

Scientific Reports
M Karimi, D Biria

Abstract

Blending polyolefins with certain types of natural polymers like starch can be beneficial to their biodegradation. The impact of alpha-amylase on the biodegradation of low-density polyethylene (LDPE)-starch blend samples in an aqueous solution was investigated through characterizing their physical, mechanical and chemical properties. Results indicated that the weight and tensile strength of the enzyme treated samples were reduced by 48% and 87% respectively. Moreover, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed an increase in fusion enthalpy of degraded samples which means that the crystallinity has been increased. The biodegradation of LLDPE appeared in Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) through the reduction in the intensity of the related peaks. This observation was supported by energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) analysis where decreasing the percentage of carbon atoms in the treated blend was obtained. Likewise, the gel permeation chromatography (GPC) results pointed to a significant reduction in both the molecular weight and viscosity of LDPE more than 70% and 60% respectively. Furthermore, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) affirmed the function of amylase in degradation of the blend. On the basis...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jan 18, 2020·Polymers·Zahra MontazerDavid B Levin
Dec 17, 2020·Frontiers in Microbiology·Nisha MohananDavid B Levin
Mar 15, 2021·Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology·Jai Shankar PaulShailesh Kumar Jadhav
May 15, 2021·Biotechnology Advances·Paul DalyIrina S Druzhinina
May 22, 2021·Journal of Computational Chemistry·Éderson Sales Moreira PintoMárcio Dorn
May 29, 2021·PeerJ·Si Jie Lim, Siti Nurbaya Oslan

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
scanning electron microscopy
x-ray spectroscopy
energy
light scattering

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