Biodegradation of a synthetic co-polyester by aerobic mesophilic microorganisms

The aerobic biological degradation of the synthetic aliphatic-aromatic co-polyester Ecoflex™ (BASF) by 29 strains of enzyme-producing soil bacteria, fungi and yeasts was investigated at moderate environmental conditions. Previous studies had shown that these materials could be degraded but these studies were done under thermophilic conditions. In this paper, a screening procedure was developed to assess the biodegradability of the co-polyester at ambient environmental conditions and to investigate the mechanism of biodegradation. Results showed that the aliphatic-aromatic co-polyester could be degraded by a number of different microorganisms. However, after 21 days exposure to even the most promising cultures of pure microorganisms, only partial degradation of the Ecoflex™ was accomplished and only a few samples showed visible signs of degradation as loosely defined by the mechanical weakening of the films. Weight loss was not as obvious as the visual degradation and suggested broader types of microbial attack. The bacteria studied preferentially degraded the bonds between aliphatic components of the copolymer and the rate of biodegradation of oligomers was appreciably faster than that for the polymer chains. Using GC-MS techniques, degradation intermediates were identified to be the monomers of the co-polyester. Gel permeation chromatography results suggested exo-enzyme type degradation, where the microbes hydrolysed the ester bonds at the termini of the polymeric chains preferentially.