Optimization Of Production Conditions Of Polyhydroxyalkanoates Produced By Soil Extracted Bacterial Strains Isolated From Dumping Site

Abstract

Plastic waste has become the major contributor in solid waste across the world. The eye catching problem in plastic waste management is its toxicity and centuries of time for even its partial degradation. Bioplastics that are naturally biodegradable have turned into a need of the sustainable future. This study aimed to isolate and authenticate bacterial strains capable of producing Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a bioplastic from soil samples collected at a dumping site and also to assess how the concentration of carbon sources and incubation duration impact the production of (PHA). For five soil samples, preliminary selection and confirmation of PHA producing bacteria was obtained by Nile blue A and Sudan Black B dyes respectively. Effect of incubation period as 24, 48, 72(hrs.) and sugarcane bagasse as carbon source concentration of 1% and 10% was observed and PHA production was optimized at 7 pH. FTIR analysis of each of six treatments revealed characteristic peaks of PHA between 1720-1740 (cm−1), the presence of ester attached carbonyl group. Besides that, the peaks for methylene band and ethyl were observed near 2924 (cm−1) and 2855 (cm−1) in succession that is a property of medium chain PHA. Significant peaks at 1454 (cm−1) exhibited the stretching vibration of carbon oxygen bonds. The conclusion drawn from this research indicated that the maximum biomass produced from PHA producing bacteria was from treatment with 10% carbon source incubated for 72 hours.