Research: microbes in cow stomachs break down plastic – Science

Scientists already suspected that the bacteria could be useful, because the diet of cows contains natural plant polyesters. If they can break down similar materials, microbes might also be able to manipulate plastic, the study authors thought.

The setup was simple: three types of polyesters were tested with rumen fluid from a nearby slaughterhouse. In addition to the well-known PET, there were two forms of biodegradable plastic that are often used in compostable plastic bags.

Pensmagen

According to their results in the magazine Frontiers of bioengineering and biotechnology all three plastics are broken down by microorganisms in cow stomachs. Plastic powder breaks down faster than aluminum foil.

The research has only been done at lab scale, but lead researcher Doris Ribitsch from the University of Vienna is optimistic. “Due to the large amount of tripe that accumulates every day in slaughterhouses, multiplication is easy to imagine,” she says.

Scientists already suspected that the bacteria could be useful, because the diet of cows contains natural plant polyesters. If they can break down similar material, the microbes might also be able to manipulate plastic, the study authors believed.The setup was simple: Using rumen fluid from a nearby abattoir, three types of polyesters were found. been studied. In addition to the well-known PET, there were two forms of biodegradable plastic that are often used in compostable plastic bags.According to their findings in the journal Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, all three plastics are broken down by microorganisms in the stomachs. cows. . Plastic powder degraded faster than aluminum foil. The research has only been done at lab scale, but lead researcher Doris Ribitsch from the University of Vienna is optimistic. “Due to the large amount of tripe that accumulates every day in slaughterhouses, multiplication is easy to imagine,” she says.