Degradation of Poly(Butylene Succinate) and Poly(Butylene Succinate)/Poly(Lactide) Blends using Serine Protease Produced from Laceyella sacchari LP175

The thermophilic filamentous bacterium Laceyella sacchari LP175 was cultivated in a 10.0 L airlift fermenter to produce serine protease at 50 °C. Maximal serine protease activity at 1,123.32 ± 15.8 U/mL was obtained for cultivation at 0.6 vvm aeration rate for 36 h. The crude enzyme was applied for degradation of poly (butylene succinate) (PBS), and poly (butylene succinate)/poly(lactide) blend (PBS/PLA) powders at 50 °C for 48 h with different substrates and enzyme concentrations. Results showed that serine protease produced from L. sacchari LP175 degraded PBS and PBS/PLA at 46.5 ± 2.05 and 49.8 ± 1.45 %, respectively, at an initial substrate concentration of 100 g/L with 1,200 U/mL of serine protease activity. Percentage degradation of PBS and PBS/PLA was improved to 51.4 ± 1.06 and 56.9 ± 1.42 %, respectively, when upscaled in a 2.0 L stirrer fermenter with 200 rpm agitation rate. Degradation products evaluated by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed that serine protease produced from L. sacchari LP175 degraded both PBS and PBS/PLA polymers. Results showed that microbial enzyme technology could be used to degrade PBS and PBS/PLA blend polymers and reduce the accumulation of waste.HIGHLIGHTSUpscaled serine protease production was achieved in a 10 L airlift fermenter by sacchari LP175 using low-cost agricultural products as substrateThe crude enzyme degraded PBS and PBS/PLA powders (100 g/L) at up to 51.4 and 56.9 %, respectively in a 2.0 L stirrer fermenter under optimal conditionsDegradation products of PBS and PBS/PLA by crude enzyme produced from sacchari LP175 were characterizedGRAPHICAL ABSTRACT