"Eat plastic fungus" appears or into governance white pollution weapon

[Chinese Packaging Network News] Scientists of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have made a major breakthrough in the field of biodegradation of plastics recently: researchers have for the first time discovered a new strain capable of efficiently degrading polyurethane plastics, Aspergillus tubingensis, which is expected to become a “cutting tool” for future control of white pollution. . This result has been published in the international authoritative journal Environmental Pollution.

Polyurethane material is one of the fastest-growing varieties in the modern plastics industry. It is widely used in the fields of industry, medical care, construction, and automobiles, and this has led to problems such as environmental pollution caused by waste. This kind of degradation is costly and easy to produce secondary pollution, and more environmentally-friendly bio-degradation has been a difficult point in the global plastic pollution research.

The study pointed out that under the action of Aspergillus tabensis, plastics that were difficult to degrade in the natural environment could be clearly seen in two weeks, and the plastic polymer on the medium disappeared after two months.

In the future, researchers will gradually determine the ideal conditions for the rapid propagation of this fungus and plastic biodegradation, and lay the foundation for the industrialization of the use of fungal degradable plastic waste and the control of plastic waste pollution.