MICROBIAL DEGRADATION OF POLYMERIC MATERIALS

ABSTRACT
Polymeric materials are becoming increasingly common in the aerospace, aviation and space
industries due to their structural versatility. As they are potential sources of carbon and
energy for heterotrophic microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi their biodegradation can
affect industries widely.
Even though polymer degradation is better understood recently, the subject is still
inadequately addressed because of lack of information. Paints, adhesives, plastics, rubbers,
sealants, FRPCMs, lubricating materials, fuels, etc. are quite a few polymers that are
susceptible to biofilm formation.

INTRODUCTION
The unique chemical composition, physical forms, mechanical properties,
and applications of polymeric materials have greatly influenced their popularity and use.
Polymeric materials offer excellent mechanical and thermal properties and also have a high
degree of stability.
The influence of microorganisms on polymers can be categorized according to two different
processes:
1 Direct action: degradation of plastics, which provides a nutritive environment for
the microorganisms.
2 Indirect action: metabolic products produced by the microorganisms.
Biodegradation is the result of enzymatic action on polymeric materials brought by the action
of naturally occurring microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi into their metabolic
products.

Mode of biodegradation
Biological agents such as bacteria, fungi, and their enzymes play a role
in the decomposition of polymeric substances. They consume polymeric materials treating it
like a food source and destroy its original form. So this is major reason for degradation of
polymers.
Now coming to why microorganisms attack polymers. It is mainly because they are very
adaptive to the surrounding and secrete endoenzymes and exonzymes which will bind to the
substrate and cleave the molecular chain into segments. These enzymes that are released are
nothing but proteins with complicated chemical structure with high molecular weight
possessing hydrophilic groups such as –OH, -COOH, -NH2 which have the capacity to attack
and destroy the material.
A wide array of factors affect the growth of microorganisms, including water availability,
temperature, oxygen consumption, minerals, pH, redox potential, carbon and energy source.
The likelihood of microbial attack on polymers depends on three factors: enzyme availability,
availability of a site in the polymers for enzyme attack, enzyme specificity for that polymer
and the presence of coenzyme if required.
Factors affecting polymer biodegradation:

Polymeric biodegradation is mainly governed by its structural complexity and heterogeneous

composition. Therefore it can be summarised that these are the following important factors
which are affecting the rate of degradation of synthetic polymers in a biological environment.
• Morphology and structure of polymer
• Molecular weight of polymer
• Hydrophobic and hydrophilic characteristics
• Additives that are used in the polymer
• Methods of synthesis
• Physical, chemical and biological factors

MECHANISM OF BIODEGRADATION:
Most of the microorganisms cannot digest the polymer directly due to various reasons like
lack of water solubility or long molecular chain. In order to use polymers as a food source,
microorganisms have developed a unique strategy. The microbes excrete exoenzymes and
endoenzymes which depolymerise the polymers. Depolymerisation of polymers means the
initial breaking down of polymers. Extracellular and intracellular depolymerases enzymes are
actively involved in biological degradation of polymers. During degradation of polymers, the
exoenzymes break down the complex structure of the polymers resulting in small chains with
low molecular weight like monomers dimers, oligomers which can pass through the outer
membrane of the microorganism and then utilized as a source of carbon. If end products
obtained are CO2, H2O or H2O then the degradation is called mineralisation. There are two
types of biodegradation: Aerobic biodegradation and anaerobic biodegradation. Aerobic
biodegradation takes place in the presence of O2 and the end products are microbial biomass,
CO2, and H2O. In the absence of O2, anaerobic biodegradation takes place and the final
products are CH4, CO2and H2O under methanogen conditions or H2S, CO2 and H2O when
sulphur is available.
Biodegradation is mainly responsible in altering mechanical, optical and electrical properties
of the material. Since mechanical properties mainly depend on the length of the polymer
chain, decrease in polymer length will affect its mechanical attributes. Biofilm is a
precondition for corrosion and deterioration of the polymer. Biofilm is a slimy layer where
bacterial cells can encase themselves in a hydrated matrix of polysaccharides and protein.
There are several biodegradation tests available. They can classified into 3 types: Field test,
Laboratory test and Simulation test. But these tests are not advanced to detect the extent of
biodegradation in polymers used in electronics and aviation.

CONCLUSION
There has been a lot of interest in the degradability of polymers and
plastics in recent years, with a special focus on biodegradability. By nature, polymers are
readily biodegradable but most synthetic high polymers are very slow to degrade.
Evaluation of biodegradability is a key consideration in developing biodegradable polymers.
Surface engineering and environmental changes can be used to protect the
materials from degradation to a certain extent. It is therefore crucial that all types of synthetic
polymeric materials undergo microbial susceptibility tests before use in hardware.