Biofilm-mediated surface depolymerization of multiple synthetic polymers by mangrove-derived bacterial consortia.
Bhattacharya S, Kolandhasamy P, Mandal A, Rajaram R, Darbha GK
Soil Health
Microplastics are now found in garden soil, compost, and even in the vegetables we eat, and discovering naturally occurring bacteria that can break plastics down is a first step toward cleaning up the contamination already surrounding our food.
Scientists collected mud from mangrove swamps and used the bacteria living in it to attack five types of common plastic. Over 120 days, the bacteria formed slimy coatings on the plastic surfaces, slowly eating into them and causing measurable weight loss and physical weakening — like rust eating through metal, but biological. Styrofoam was the most vulnerable, losing about a fifth of its mass, while plastic drink-bottle material lost roughly 8%.
Key Findings
Styrofoam (PS) lost 20.14% of its mass over 120 days of bacterial exposure, the highest degradation among all five plastics tested.
PET (the plastic used in water bottles) showed 8.33% mass loss, with microscopy confirming nanoscale surface pitting and chemical changes to polymer chains.
First-order kinetic modeling confirmed that degradation rates differed meaningfully across polymer types, establishing mangrove bacteria as a ranked, comparative tool for plastic breakdown.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Bacteria harvested from mangrove mud can physically break down common plastics — including styrofoam and plastic bottles — by forming sticky biofilms that pit and weaken polymer surfaces, with styrofoam losing over 20% of its mass in just four months.
Abstract Preview
Plastic pollution persists across marine and terrestrial ecosystems largely due to the intrinsic resistance of synthetic polymers to biological attack. Despite growing evidence of microbial interac...
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