When researchers examined the residues of the slurry-coated plastic film, they found ethylene glycol, a sign that the worms really had broken the plastic down. This counts to a degradation rate of 0.23 milligrams per square centimetre. After 14 hours, the researchers found that 13 per cent of the polythene mass had been lost. To understand if the moth were just chewing the material rather than actually digesting it into simpler products, scientists made a slurry of some worms and smeared the dissociated cells on polyethylene films.
After this, the researchers put approximately 100 wax moth larvae on a commercial shopping bag they ate a total of 92 milligrams in about 12 hours. They noticed holes appearing after just 40 minutes. To find out their capability, researchers set wax worms loose on a polyethylene film. Wax moth, an insect that inhabits bee hives, appeared to degrade tough plastic. Both these degradations appeared to produce ethylene glycol, a compound used in all kinds of products including paints, plastics and even cosmetics.
0 kommentar(er)
