Polyurethane foams due to their easily regulated domain structure are group of polymers with highly variable properties. They are widely used to provide comfort in many areas of daily life. Because of toxic products polyurethane foam waste cannot be disposed by means of thermal degradation, they also show a high resistance to chemical and physical factor. Those properties combined with their low apparent density and widespread use (about 18 million tons per year) lead to a significant volume of waste that is stored in landfills. In Poland, more than 60% of those landfills, certified as well as illegal, are located in rural areas.The aim of this study was to determine the enzymatic abilities of microorganisms isolated from foam waste, which can potentially decompose polyurethane (ureases, esterases, proteases, and laccases), and to determine their ability to grow on a medium containing polyurethane foam as the only carbon source.Most of the tested strains produced ureases while the least produced were laccases and proteases. Four of the tested strains: Epicoccum nigrum, Aspergillus niger, Staphylococcus xylosus and Rhodococcus spp. showed significant growth on the medium with polyurethane foam as sole carbon source. ...
The aim of the present study was to assess the vermicomposting process in a household vericpomoster as a way of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) treatment. Household bio-waste of fruit, vegetableand indoor plants origin was composted at vertical continuous feeding vermireactor for almost two years. The vermicomposter contains four boxes placed above each other; the capacity of each box was 15 dm3. Only oncea box has been filled, the waste was inserted into the following box. The dynamics of parameters pH and electrical conductivity (EC) were monitored in time. Values of pH were not modified significantly during vermicomposting and fell into the value range 6-8 as required for composts. The values of EC in case of boxes 1 and 2 were initially relatively low (4-5 mS·cm-1) corresponding to the values of home composts while the initial value of EC of box 3 and later values of boxes 1 and 2 (7-9 mS.cm-1) corresponding to the values of industrial composts. The gradual addition of bio-waste, 12-15 kg of raw bio-waste can be composted in one box. The results of the study have shown that the use of a home vermicomposter is a viable way for OFMSW treatment. ...
In recent years, a significant surge in the mass of generated waste with varying morphological composition has been observed. Packaging made of both plastic and paper has an increasing share in the municipal solid waste stream. The multiplicity of packaging means that proper methods and installations are needed to appropriately manage the waste generated from it. A special type of packaging waste is made of paper and cardboard and it is considered as biodegradable waste. It can be processed in both mechanical (material) and biological treatment processes. Thanks to the microorganisms involved in biological treatment processes, the organic matter present in waste should be decomposed (biodegradable).The main aim of the study was to analyze the dynamics of the biodegradation process of selected packaging waste made of paper and cardboard in various research environments. The waste used for the analysis differed primarily in grammage. The dynamics of the decomposition rate of the examined waste was analyzed for materials placed in 4 different research environments. The analysis showed significant differences in the rate of biodegradation of the tested waste. Differences were also found in the rate of material decomposition in individual research environments. Materials with low grammage such as paper towels and ...
