doi: 10.18178/ijesd.2025.16.4.1534
Exploring Microbial Solutions: Effective Biodegradation of Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Plastic Using Bacteria Isolated from the Surabaya River, Indonesia
Atik Widiyanti1
,
Eddy Setiadi Soedjono1,* ,
Maya Shovitri2 ,
Adhi Yuniarto1 ,
Muchammad Tamyiz3
- 1Department of Environmental Engineering, Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology, Surabaya, 60111, Indonesia
- 2Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology, Surabaya, 60111, Indonesia
- 3Departement of Environmental Engineering, University of Nahdlatul Ulama Sidoarjo, Sidoarjo, 61234, Indonesia
- Manuscript receivedJanuary 12, 2025
- revisedFebruary 14, 2025
- acceptedMarch 3, 2025
- publishedAugust 3, 2025
Abstract
Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) is a compoundcomposed of long chains of ethylene molecules (C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub>)n. LPDEcan contaminate the environment and pose health risks due tothe presence of additive plasticizers capable of bonding withheavy metals. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate theefficiency of bacteria in degrading LDPE. The applied methodsincluded analysis of the difference in the dry plastic weight andchemical structure changes, which was performed usingFourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) instrument. Furthermore,bacterial isolates were obtained from the surface of SurabayaRiver in Indonesia and purified for plastic degradation testsover a period of 30 days. The results showed that isolate S2 hada more effective capacity to degrade LDPE compared to S1 andS3. Isolate S2 achieved a reduction in the dry weight of plasticby 5.979%, while S1 and S3 had reductions of 0.638% and0.264%, respectively. This reduction was reflected in changes toLDPE chemical structure, marked by lower intensity inhydroxyl (-OH), C-H, C=C, and C-O bonds compared to pureLDPE. The results suggested the potential of bacteria as agentsfor bioremediation in addressing future plastic pollution issues.
Keywords
- biodegradation
- LDPE
- plastic pollution
- Surabaya River
How to Cite
Atik Widiyanti, Eddy Setiadi Soedjono, Maya Shovitri, Adhi Yuniarto, and Muchammad Tamyiz, "Exploring Microbial Solutions: Effective Biodegradation of Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Plastic Using Bacteria Isolated from the Surabaya River, Indonesia," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 272-277, 2025. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijesd.2025.16.4.1534
Copyright & License
Copyright © 2025 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).