The College of Science at the University of Basrah organized a seminar on "Ability of Bacterial Isolates to Biodegrade Microplastics" presented by PhD student Ansam Jassim Mohammed. The study aimed to evaluate the ability of local bacterial isolates to biodegrade microplastics, examine their efficiency in breaking down different types of microplastics, analyze the physical and chemical changes that occur in the plastics after bacterial treatment using advanced analytical techniques, and identify the factors affecting the efficiency of the biodegradation process. The study included isolating and identifying the bacteria, testing their growth capacity using microplastics as a carbon source, evaluating the degradation efficiency by measuring the percentage of weight loss, studying the surface and structural changes in the plastics using SEM and FTIR techniques, and calculating the Carbonyl Index to estimate the degree of degradation. The study recommended (relying on highly efficient bacterial isolates in bioremediation applications to reduce microplastic contamination, and conducting future studies to develop this technology and apply it on a wider environmental scale).
