Fungal Inventory from Samples of Long-Term Plastic Waste, Land-Filled Soil and Rusted Acrylic Wall Paint and Determination of the Biodegradability of Synthetic Polypropylene and Acrylic Substances

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IJEP 45(10): 900-910 : Vol. 45 Issue. 10 (October 2025)

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Vishalakshi Subramanian1, Priyanka Ramamoorthi1 and Kannan Dorai Pandian2*

1. Thiagarajar College, Department of Botany, Madurai – 625 009, Tamil Nadu, India
2. Pondicherry University, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Chinna Kalapet, Puducherry – 605 014, India

Abstract

The increasing impact of pollution poses a serious threat to the environment, causing ecological disturbances and major concerns for human health. The negative effects include exploring microbial-based methods for breaking down plastic waste. This study isolated fungal species from samples collected from long-term landfilled plastic waste sites and weathered acrylic wall paint. These fungal isolates were screened and identified using established protocols, leading to the discovery of new strains. The degradation processes were assessed using Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy to detect changes in the chemical structure of polymers and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to examine surface morphology alterations in the polymers. The study identified effective fungal species, namely Phytophthora cambivora and Alterneria sp., on polypropylene and acrylic polymers, respectively. Polymer films treated with these fungal isolates showed significant changes in FTIR peaks, indicating modifications in the chemical structure of the polymers. The fungi-treated films also displayed surface morphological changes after incubation for the biodegradation process. This research demonstrates the ability of these newly isolated fungal species to grow on polymers and alter their chemical composition by using them as the sole carbon source, thereby supporting biological methods for plastic waste management.

Keywords

Plastic pollution, Biodegradation, Acrylic degradation, Polypropylene degradation, Soil fungi, Fourier transform infra-red, scanning electron microscopy

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