Environmental Biotechnology: Biodegradation of Microplastics with Larvae of Tenebrio Molitor and Galleria Mellonella

Plastics have become one of the serious problems with a significant negative impact, especially in the sea, due to their long biodegradation time. This is further aggravated when the size of microplastics is reduced because of the exposure to mechanical and temperature effort. One of the places wher...

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Main Authors: Jacquelin Espinoza Pinchi, Julio Ordonez Galvez, Carlos A. Castaneda-Olivera, Elmer G. Benites Alfaro
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. 2022-07-01
Series:Chemical Engineering Transactions
Online Access:https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/12529
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author Jacquelin Espinoza Pinchi
Julio Ordonez Galvez
Carlos A. Castaneda-Olivera
Elmer G. Benites Alfaro
author_facet Jacquelin Espinoza Pinchi
Julio Ordonez Galvez
Carlos A. Castaneda-Olivera
Elmer G. Benites Alfaro
author_sort Jacquelin Espinoza Pinchi
collection DOAJ
description Plastics have become one of the serious problems with a significant negative impact, especially in the sea, due to their long biodegradation time. This is further aggravated when the size of microplastics is reduced because of the exposure to mechanical and temperature effort. One of the places where they are deposited by the dynamics of the sea waves are the beach areas. The research presents as a method of environmental biotechnology, the use of larvae of Tenebrio molitor and Galleria mellonella for the biodegradation of microplastics sample collected from the Azul beach in Ventanilla. The investigation began by characterizing the microplastics, these being identified as polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, and expanded polystyrene. The microplastics were then subjected for periods of 5, 10 and 15 days to larvae of Tenebrio molitor and Galleria mellonella, verifying that at 15 days there was a higher level of biodegradation of these, being 54.2% with 30 larvae of Tenebrio molitor for the Expanded Polystyrene and 34.4% with 30 Galleria mellonella Larvae for Polyvinyl Chloride. It is concluded that the use of these larvae turns out to be a viable and important way as an alternative for the degradation of microplastics and with the advantage of being friendly to the environment.
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spelling doaj.art-a9705536c9f44e308f2c1eadd55d95732022-12-22T01:25:16ZengAIDIC Servizi S.r.l.Chemical Engineering Transactions2283-92162022-07-019310.3303/CET2293032Environmental Biotechnology: Biodegradation of Microplastics with Larvae of Tenebrio Molitor and Galleria MellonellaJacquelin Espinoza PinchiJulio Ordonez GalvezCarlos A. Castaneda-OliveraElmer G. Benites AlfaroPlastics have become one of the serious problems with a significant negative impact, especially in the sea, due to their long biodegradation time. This is further aggravated when the size of microplastics is reduced because of the exposure to mechanical and temperature effort. One of the places where they are deposited by the dynamics of the sea waves are the beach areas. The research presents as a method of environmental biotechnology, the use of larvae of Tenebrio molitor and Galleria mellonella for the biodegradation of microplastics sample collected from the Azul beach in Ventanilla. The investigation began by characterizing the microplastics, these being identified as polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, and expanded polystyrene. The microplastics were then subjected for periods of 5, 10 and 15 days to larvae of Tenebrio molitor and Galleria mellonella, verifying that at 15 days there was a higher level of biodegradation of these, being 54.2% with 30 larvae of Tenebrio molitor for the Expanded Polystyrene and 34.4% with 30 Galleria mellonella Larvae for Polyvinyl Chloride. It is concluded that the use of these larvae turns out to be a viable and important way as an alternative for the degradation of microplastics and with the advantage of being friendly to the environment.https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/12529
spellingShingle Jacquelin Espinoza Pinchi
Julio Ordonez Galvez
Carlos A. Castaneda-Olivera
Elmer G. Benites Alfaro
Environmental Biotechnology: Biodegradation of Microplastics with Larvae of Tenebrio Molitor and Galleria Mellonella
Chemical Engineering Transactions
title Environmental Biotechnology: Biodegradation of Microplastics with Larvae of Tenebrio Molitor and Galleria Mellonella
title_full Environmental Biotechnology: Biodegradation of Microplastics with Larvae of Tenebrio Molitor and Galleria Mellonella
title_fullStr Environmental Biotechnology: Biodegradation of Microplastics with Larvae of Tenebrio Molitor and Galleria Mellonella
title_full_unstemmed Environmental Biotechnology: Biodegradation of Microplastics with Larvae of Tenebrio Molitor and Galleria Mellonella
title_short Environmental Biotechnology: Biodegradation of Microplastics with Larvae of Tenebrio Molitor and Galleria Mellonella
title_sort environmental biotechnology biodegradation of microplastics with larvae of tenebrio molitor and galleria mellonella
url https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/12529
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