The efficacy of newly isolated Pseudomonas and Bacillus strains to degrade brominated High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) was investigated. Viability of these cultures while using e-plastic as sole carbon source was validated through Triphenyl Tetrazolium Chloride (TTC). Four days incubation of HIPS emulsion with Bacillus spp. showed 94% reduction in turbidity and was 97% with Pseudomonas spp. Confirmation of degradation was concluded by HPLC, NMR, FTIR, TGA and weight loss analysis. NMR spectra of the degraded film revealed the formation of aliphatic carbon chain with bromine and its release. FTIR analysis of the samples showed a reduction in CH, CO and CN groups. Surface changes in the brominated HIPS film was visualized through SEM analysis. Degradation with Bacillus spp showed a weight loss of 23% (w/w) of HIPS film in 30days.
Keywords: Bacillus species; High Impact Polystyrene; Methyl bromine; Pseudomonas species.
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