Polystyrene Consumption by Yellow Mealworm Tenebrio Molitor Larvae with and without Natural Food

Abstract

The yellow mealworm Tenebrio molitor larva has the aptitude to consume and degrade certain types of plastic waste. This study the biodegradation potential of Tenebrio molitor larvae toward polystyrene (PS) was evaluated under three feeding treatments. Larvae were provided with PS alone, PS supplemented with oats, and oats alone as the larval control. An additional plastic-only control containing PS without larvae was maintained under the same experimental conditions to determine weight loss caused by abiotic factors, over 40 days of experiment time Efficiency was assessed by measuring the plastic mass loss every 10 days, performing Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy on the polystyrene in the larval frass, and monitoring larval survival, growth, and weight changes. The results showed that the larvae fed polystyrene with added oats achieved the highest biodegradability rate of 78%, while the biodegradability rate of the larvae fed polystyrene alone did not exceed 30.5 %. FTIR analysis shown chemical changes occurred in the polystyrene structure following exposure to T. molitor larvae, as indicated by the appearance or increase of carbonyl (C=O) absorption bands and changes in the hydroxyl (O–H) region, suggesting oxidation and modification of the polymer chains. The biodegradation of polystyrene within the digestive tract of larvae T. molitor cusses Changes in the polymer's chemical structure and the survival rate of larvae that fed on plastic was high, and the mortality rate was almost nonexistent, approaching the control coefficient of approximately 98%. . These results highlight the role of supplementing mealworm larvae's diet in increasing their consumption of polystyrene, and contribute to identifying methods to enhance the larvae's efficiency in disposing of plastics as biodegradable and environmentally friendly agents.