Biodegradation of Polymers by Zophobas morio Larvae (Review)

The literature data on the use of larvae of the black beetle (Zophobas morio) for biodegradation of various plastics such as polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethane foam, polyvinyl chloride, etc. are briefly summarized. Brief information is provided on the volume of plastic waste generation in the Russian Federation and in the world, information on the main methods of recycling used polymer materials is briefly given. Information is provided on the morphology of imago and larvae of Z. morio. It has been shown that insect larvae can use plastics as the only source of carbon, effectively decomposing the latter due to the action of a consortium of intestinal microorganisms. Isolated and identified strains of microorganisms that decompose plastics are described, in most cases, due to a decrease in molecular weight, size and oxidation under the action of enzymes. Utilization of polymer materials by biodegradation due to feeding on insect larvae has prospects for development and is intensively developing in the global space.