Eco-friendly Decomposition of Plastics by Fungi?
Fungi may provide an eco-friendly way of decomposing polycarbonate plastic waste that contains bisphenol A. (Credit: American Chemical Society)
Plastics have gained a lot of notoriety over the years due to their assault on nature. Research is ongoing around the globe to find a substitute and we have already told you about that in some of our previous articles. This is about a different approach to mitigate the harmful effects of plastic by using resources that can be found naturally amongst us. Truly a green approach if there ever was one…
The problem?
Polycarbonate plastic containing bisphenol A (BPA).
Why is it a problem?
It is ubiquitous and quite resistant in nature. Manufacturers produce about 2.7 million tons of plastic containing BPA each year and it is used in everything from screwdriver handles to eyeglass lenses, DVDs, and CDs. Studies suggest that BPA may cause a range of adverse health effects. Hence the need to get rid of it in an environmentally safe way…
The solution?
Fungi!
That’s right, scientists have discovered that pretreating polycarbonate with ultraviolet light and heat and exposing it to three kinds of fungi (including the fabled white-rot fungus) maybe the secret to getting rid of these tough pollutants in an eco-friendly manner.
white-Rot Fungus (via: English country Garden)
Studies have found that…
Fungi grew better on pretreated plastic, using its BPA and other ingredients as a source of energy to decompose the plastic in 12 months with no release of BPA!
News Via: American Chemical Society
Image Via: English Country Garden
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