Comparative e-waste plastics biodegradation efficacy of monoculture Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PE10 and bacterial consortium under in situ condition

Abstract

A significant amount of electronic obsoletes or electronic waste (e-waste) is being generated globally each year; of these, ~20% of obsolete electronic items have plastic components. Current remediation practices for e-waste have several setbacks due to its negative impact on the environment, agro-ecosystem, and human health. Therefore, comparative biodegradation studies of e-waste plastics by monoculture Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PE10 and bacterial consortium consisting of Achromobacter insolitus strain PE2 (MF943156), Acinetobacter nosocomialis strain PE5 (MF943157), Pseudomonas lalkuanensis PE8 (CP043311), and Stenotrophomonas pavanii strain PE15 (MF943160) were carried out in situ. Biological treatment of e-waste with these candidates in soil ecosystems has been analyzed through diversified analytical techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric-derivative thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTG-DTA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Both P. aeruginosa strain PE10 and the bacterial consortium have a tremendous ability to accelerate the biodegradation process in the natural environment. However, FTIR analysis implied that the monoculture had better efficacy than the consortium, and it was consistent until the incubation period used for the study. Some polymeric bonds such as ν C=C and δ C-H were completely removed, and ν C=C ring stretching, νasym C–O–C, νsym C–H, etc. were introduced by strain PE10. Furthermore, thermal analysis results validated the structural deterioration of e-waste as the treated samples showed nearly two-fold weight loss (WL; 6.8%) than the untreated control (3.1%) at comparatively lower temperatures. SEM images provided the details of surface disintegrations. Conclusively, individual monoculture P. aeruginosa strain PE10 could be explored for e-waste bio-recycling in agricultural soil ecosystems thereby reducing the cost, time, and management of bioformulation in addition to hazardous pollutant reduction.