|
|
Diversity of soil microbial communities in relation to biodegradation of polymers
Hušek, Pavel ; Jandová, Kateřina (advisor) ; Innemanová, Petra (referee)
Polymer materials have had a big impact on the industry in the 20th century and replaced a large amount of then used materials. Plastic waste, however, has subsequently become a big problem that needs a solution. One of the possible solutions is to produce biodegradable plastics, that should degrade in nature by themselves and therefore not increase the volume of plastic waste. Their degradation, however, is often only partial and the dynamics of polymer biodegradation in soil are not yet fully understood. In this thesis, we are investigating biodegradability of polyurethanes in field soil as it has high ecological relevance. The text consists of two parts. The first part is literary research on mechanisms of biodegradation of polymer materials and methods which are commonly used for characterization of microbial communities. The second part is our own laboratory project that aims to evaluate the effect of biodegradation of polyurethane on soil microbial communities. We assume that mostly fungi and bacteria taxa will take part in the biodegradation and will use enzymatically catalyzed hydrolysis to degrade the polyurethane foam. Key words: Biodegradation, polyurethane, soil, microbial communities, PLFA
|
|
|
Biodegradation of new types of lightweight polyurethanes in different environmentally-relevant microcosms
Hušek, Pavel ; Innemanová, Petra (advisor) ; Cajthaml, Tomáš (referee)
Presented diploma thesis focuses on a new type of lightweight polyurethane foam (PUR), which has been manufactured with the intention of it being biodegradable within currently valid norms on biodegradation of plastic materials. The future use of said polyurethane foam is as carrier for odor repellent to avoid wildlife-vehicle collisions in agriculture landscape, where, after the end of its lifespan it could be left to biodegrade in soil the environment. The examined material, PUR BIO-10, was tested for biodegradability in laboratory microcosms according to standardized method ASTM D5988-03. Biodegradability was tested in two separate soil types - forest soil and agricultural soil, which have been selected with the future use of the material in mind. According to the method biodegradability was measured as mineralization of the material by capturing evolved carbon dioxide. Two trials with different treatments were executed. In the first trial the material was introduced directly into the soil and in the second trial the material was tested in a litterbag to avoid soil contamination which was problematic for further analysis. During the first trial, after 90 days, the mineralization of polyurethane foam was 10.65 ± 2.54 % in the forest soil and 20.48 ± 9.18 % in the agricultural soil. During the...
|
|
|
Biodegradation of new types of lightweight polyurethanes in different environmentally-relevant microcosms
Hušek, Pavel ; Innemanová, Petra (advisor) ; Cajthaml, Tomáš (referee)
Presented diploma thesis focuses on a new type of lightweight polyurethane foam (PUR), which has been manufactured with the intention of it being biodegradable within currently valid norms on biodegradation of plastic materials. The future use of said polyurethane foam is as carrier for odor repellent to avoid wildlife-vehicle collisions in agriculture landscape, where, after the end of its lifespan it could be left to biodegrade in soil the environment. The examined material, PUR BIO-10, was tested for biodegradability in laboratory microcosms according to standardized method ASTM D5988-03. Biodegradability was tested in two separate soil types - forest soil and agricultural soil, which have been selected with the future use of the material in mind. According to the method biodegradability was measured as mineralization of the material by capturing evolved carbon dioxide. During the first trial the mineralization of polyurethane foam was 10.65 ± 2.54 % in the forest soil and 20.48 ± 9.18 % in the agricultural soil. During the second trial the mineralization was 3.88 ± 3.42 % in the forest soil and 8.96 ± 1.79 % in the agricultural soil. In the second trial the difference between the soils was statistically significant. After the end of the biodegradation experiments the tested material was...
|
|
|
Diversity of soil microbial communities in relation to biodegradation of polymers
Hušek, Pavel ; Jandová, Kateřina (advisor) ; Innemanová, Petra (referee)
Polymer materials have had a big impact on the industry in the 20th century and replaced a large amount of then used materials. Plastic waste, however, has subsequently become a big problem that needs a solution. One of the possible solutions is to produce biodegradable plastics, that should degrade in nature by themselves and therefore not increase the volume of plastic waste. Their degradation, however, is often only partial and the dynamics of polymer biodegradation in soil are not yet fully understood. In this thesis, we are investigating biodegradability of polyurethanes in field soil as it has high ecological relevance. The text consists of two parts. The first part is literary research on mechanisms of biodegradation of polymer materials and methods which are commonly used for characterization of microbial communities. The second part is our own laboratory project that aims to evaluate the effect of biodegradation of polyurethane on soil microbial communities. We assume that mostly fungi and bacteria taxa will take part in the biodegradation and will use enzymatically catalyzed hydrolysis to degrade the polyurethane foam. Key words: Biodegradation, polyurethane, soil, microbial communities, PLFA
|
|
| |
|
| |
guest ::
RSS feed.