PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

Polystyrene waste pollutes the environment and poses a significant health risk to humans, animals, and marine ecology. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of degradation on expanded (EPS) and extruded (XPS) polystyrene with different diets using superworms (Zophobas atratus larvae) obtained in Malaysia. The growth and development of the larvae after consumption of EPS and XPS and the gut microbial community changes in response to high polystyrene consumption diets were also identified. The oatmeal, wheat bran, and cornmeal were used as supplement diets and showed significantly enhanced EPS and XPS consumption and degradation compared to sole diet treatment. Gel permeation chromatography was carried out using egested frass of Z.atratus larvae to characterize depolymerization of EPS and XPS, indicating a significant reduction in the average molecular weight and average molecular weight. The highest reduction occurred in the presence of oatmeal. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses indicated functional group changes and chemical modification occurred with depolymerization and partial oxidation of EPS and XPS. The larvae length increased, while the number of instars and duration of larvae became shorter with the addition of supplement diets. Oatmeal is predominantly effective among other supplements in assisting Z.atratus larvae with EPS and XPS degradation. The results of this study support the ubiquity of polystyrene biodegradation in Z.atratus and the next-generation sequencing studies. Kluyvera sp., Klebsiella sp., and Enterobacter sp. were found to be strongly associated with degrading EPS and XPS polystyrene with oatmeal as a supplemental diet.

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• Hendrichs, J., Pereira, R. & Vreysen, M. J. (Eds.) (2021). Area-wide integrated pest management: Development and field application. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003169239

• Herman, V., Takacs, H., Duclairoir, F., Renault, O., Tortai, J. H., & Viala, B. (2015). Core double–shell cobalt/graphene/polystyrene magnetic nanocomposites synthesized by in situ sonochemical polymerization. RSC Advances, 5(63), 51371-51381. https://doi.org/10.1039/C5RA06847A

• Hu, L., Xia, M., Lin, X., Xu, C., Li, W, Wang, J., Zeng, R., & Song, Y. (2018). Earthworm gut bacteria increase silicon bioavailability and acquisition by maize. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 125, 215-221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2018.07.015

• Jang, S., & Kikuchi, Y. (2020). Impact of the insect gut microbiota on ecology, evolution, and industry. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 41, 33-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2020.06.004

• Jiang, S., Su, T., Zhao, J., & Wang, Z. (2021). Biodegradation of polystyrene by Tenebrio molitor, Galleria mellonella, and Zophobas atratus larvae and comparison of their degradation effects. Polymers, 13(20), 3539. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13203539

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• Khoo, K. S., Ho, L. Y., Lim, H. R., Leong, H. Y., & Chew, K. W. (2021). Plastic waste associated with the COVID-19 pandemic: Crisis or opportunity?. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 417, 126108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126108

• Kim, S. Y., Kim, H. G., Song, S. H., & Kim, N. J. (2015). Developmental characteristics of Zophobas atratus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) larvae in different instars. International Journal of Industrial Entomology, 30(2), 45-49. https://doi.org/10.7852/ijie.2015.30.2.45

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