作者
Samuel Ken-En Gan, Ser-Xian Phua, Joshua Yi Yeo, Zealyn Shi-Lin Heng, Zhenxiang Xing
发表日期
2021/6/21
期刊
Methods and protocols
卷号
4
期号
2
页码范围
43
出版商
MDPI
简介
Polystyrene (PS) is one of the major plastics contributing to environmental pollution with its durability and resistance to natural biodegradation. Recent research showed that mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) and superworms (Zophobas morio) are naturally able to consume PS as a carbon food source and degrade them without observable toxic effects. In this study, we explored the effects of possible food additives and use of worm frass as potential plant fertilizers. We found that small amounts of sucrose and bran increased PS consumption and that the worm frass alone could support dragon fruit cacti (Hylocereus undatus) growth, with superworm frass in particular, supporting better growth and rooting than mealworm frass and control media over a fortnight. As known fish and poultry feed, these findings present worms as a natural solution to simultaneously tackle both the global plastic problem and urban farming issue in a zero-waste sustainable bioremediation cycle.
学术搜索中的文章
SKE Gan, SX Phua, JY Yeo, ZSL Heng, Z Xing - Methods and protocols, 2021
DWS Koh, BYX Ang, JY Yeo, Z Xing, SKE Gan - UCL Open: Environment Preprint, 2020