Utilization of Waste Peels for Enhanced Production of Bioplastics by Enterococcus fecium - A Green Initiative

From ancient times, plastics have become a part and parcel of human life. Though it has become indispensable, yet disposal has created a problem and has become an environmental concern. The introduction of bioplastics is thought to be a solution to address the problem. However, isolation and characterization of microbes with bioplastic production potential are being investigated. Several sources were sought after to screen for PHB producing bacteria and in such attempt, we have initiated to isolate bacteria producing PHB from curd sample. Such bacteria was cultured and identified through 16SrRNA sequencing. To replace expensive conventional media, peels of banana and beet roots were used to culture the bacterium without any chemical supplementation. This has been reported for the first time. The PHB produced by the bacterium was extracted following standard protocol and was confirmed by GC-MS analysis. The bioplastic film was prepared using PHB powder extracted and biodegradation and solubility study was conducted. Hence, utilization of waste vegetable and fruit peels serve as carbon source enhancing the bacterial growth, leading to the production of PHB in nitrogen-deficient condition. In future, the waste peels could be utilized as medium for PHB production, which also addresses the problem of pollution.