The increasing production and consumption of plastics pose a serious challenge to the environment, as only a small proportion of plastic waste is recycled and the rest ends up in the environment. Conventional methods of plastic disposal are often inefficient, costly and harmful to the environment, so the biodegradation of plastics by fungi is a promising alternative. Fungi can use their enzymes to degrade the polymer chains of plastics in a process that takes place in several stages: from colonization of the surface to mineralization into basic compounds. In the experimental part of the study, the influence of abiotic plastic fatigue (mechanical, thermal, freezing, chemical and their combination) on the biodegradation of low-density polyethene (LDPE) by the fungi Pleurotus ostreatus and Ceriporiopsis subvermispora was investigated. After incubation of the samples, the fungal growth, surface roughness and chemical changes of the material were analysed. The results showed that Pleurotus ostreatus grew faster and degraded the plastic more efficiently than Ceriporiopsis subvermispora, with chemically and heat-treated plastic being the most suitable substrates for fungal colonization. FT-IR analysis showed no significant chemical changes in the plastic. Despite the lack of mass loss measurements, changes in the morphological properties of the samples were observed. To improve the experimental procedure, we recommend optimizing the cleaning of the samples and systematically investigating the different forms of abiotic fatigue, which would allow a better understanding of the influence of fungi on the degradation of plastics.
|
