BACTERIAL-DEGRADATION OF POLYESTER POLYURETHANE

An account is presented of work undertaken to investigate the ability of sixteen bacteria to degrade polyester polyurethane. The results of liquid shake culture experiments using a mineral salts medium, incorporating the polyurethane as the sole carbon source, indicated that none of the bacteria were able to degrade the polyurethane over a 12-week period. The addition of supplementary organic nutrients at a low level, achieved by the addition of 1 ml aliquots of overnight broth cultures of the bacteria to the shake cultures, was found to be sufficient to effect significant degradation in two isolates; a species of Corynebacterium and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 13388) over a 12-week incubation period. The provision of higher levels of organic nutrients in the form of yeast extract (1% w/v) to the liquid shake cultures was found to effect significant degradation by a further five bacterial isolates. Results are presented which indicate that four bacterial isolates could degrade the polyester polyurethane within 2 weeks in the presence of yeast extract.