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pseudomonas aeruginosa and polyethylene
Moderators: AmyCowen, kgudger, bfinio, MadelineB, Moderators
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gikae
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 9:38 am
- Occupation: student 8th grade
- Project Question: Does pseudomonas aeruginosa eat every part of polyethylene, or just one certain part of it?
- Project Due Date: Well, the question needs to be answered before the end of the week.
- Project Status: I am conducting my research
pseudomonas aeruginosa and polyethylene
Hi! I am working on a project for science fair which is as follows - Which individual or combination of certain microorganisms decompose the most substantial amount of polyethylene during a determined period of time? However, I have a question that I can not find the answer to - Does pseudomonas aeruginosa eat every part of what polyethylene is made of, or just a certain part of it? Thank you in advance!
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deleted-71882
- Former Expert
- Posts: 338
- Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2011 5:48 pm
- Occupation: retired physicist
- Project Question: n/a
- Project Due Date: n/a
- Project Status: Not applicable
Re: pseudomonas aeruginosa and polyethylene
Hello gikae,
Polyethylene is made of just one ingredient--polymerized ethylene--so I think it must be able to eat it all if it eats any part. A quick web search indicates that pseudomonas aeruginosa can only attack polyethylene after it has inorganically oxidized into low-molecular-weight fragments, so the oxidation is a prerequisite for the overall decomposition.
WW
Polyethylene is made of just one ingredient--polymerized ethylene--so I think it must be able to eat it all if it eats any part. A quick web search indicates that pseudomonas aeruginosa can only attack polyethylene after it has inorganically oxidized into low-molecular-weight fragments, so the oxidation is a prerequisite for the overall decomposition.
WW