Mealworms are not only able to eat various forms of plastic, as previous research has shown, they can consume potentially toxic plastic additives in …
Because of this, the European Union plans to ban HBCD, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is evaluating its risk.Mealworms in the experiment excreted about half of the polystyrene they consumed as tiny, partially degraded fragments and the other half as carbon dioxide. While five mealworms could eat a gram (0.03 ounce) of plastic in two days, the superworms didn’t eat that much in a week. We then switched the light and dark sides and found that the meal worms also switched sides and all 9 went to the dark side. The conversion rate was low at first, but by the end of the experiment the worms fed polyethylene were converting 50% of it into gas and those fed polystyrene were converting 45%.Ms Brandon and Dr Criddle theorised that the bacterial ecosystems inside the insects’ guts were changing to fit their unusual diets. (Wheat bran had been found to increase the rate at which mealworms could digest polystyrene). But eating plastic might leave toxic residues in the diners. "In earlier work, Stanford researchers and collaborators at other institutions revealed that mealworms, which are easy to cultivate and widely used as a food for animals ranging from chickens and snakes to fish and shrimp, can subsist on a diet of various types of plastic. * So the small container of mealworms from the pet shop with 100 count is capable of eating 4636 mg of Styrofoam a year. While hopeful for mealworm-derived solutions to the world's "This is a wake-up call," said Brandon. Not only are they able to consume various forms of plastic, as previous Stanford research has shown, they can eat polystyrene containing a common toxic chemical additive and still be safely used as protein-rich feedstock for other animals, according to a new Stanford A new Stanford study shows mealworms can eat polystyrene containing a common toxic chemical additive and still be safely used as protein-rich feedstock for other animals.
That means each worm can eat 0.127mg per day – 46.36mg per year! Another is biology, and with that in mind researchers have been hunting for creatures that can digest plastics. Most of the rest was converted to carbon dioxide. Mealworms feed on styrofoam during the experiment. It contained a flame retardant called hexabromocyclododecane, or HBCD, that is commonly added to polystyrene.
Instead, chemical reactions in their guts were converting them into carbon dioxide. Questions?Stanford University. The additive is one of many used to improve plastics' manufacturing properties or decrease flammability. "This is definitely not what we expected to see," said study lead author Anja Malawi Brandon, a PhD candidate in civil and environmental engineering at Stanford. Some, such as HBCD, can have significant health and environmental impacts, ranging from endocrine disruption to neurotoxicity. Conclusions: This experiment was very conclusive, mealworms prefer dark locations. Yu Yang / Stanford. part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
"It reminds us that we need to think about what we're adding to our plastics and how we deal with it." It serves as a proof of concept for deriving value from plastic waste.“This is definitely not what we expected to see,” said study lead author “This work provides an answer to many people who asked us whether it is safe to feed animals with mealworms that ate polystyrene,” said Brandon, Wu and their colleagues looked at polystyrene, a common plastic typically used for packaging and insulation, that is costly to recycle because of its low density and bulkiness. Some, such as HBCD, can have significant health and environmental impacts, ranging from endocrine disruption to neurotoxicity.
They dissected the worms at the end of the experiment and compared the gut fauna of those that had been eating plastics with the fauna found in the control group.
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Mealworms fed a steady diet of HBCD-laden polystyrene were as healthy as those eating a normal diet. The same was true of shrimp fed a steady diet of the HBCD-ingesting mealworms and their counterparts on a normal diet. The process is fairly slow. This document is subject to copyright. ScienceDaily, 19 December 2019. Ms Brandon and Dr Criddle wondered whether polystyrene was uniquely palatable, or whether the bacteria in the worms’ guts might be able to eat other sorts of plastic, too. With it, they excreted the HBCD – about 90 percent within 24 hours of consumption and essentially all of it after 48 hours.
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