Biostability of synthetic polymer materials – polyethylene, polypropylene and polycarbonate – in the conditions of Surgut

The paper is devoted to the study of biostability of polyethylene, polypropylene and polycarbonate in the conditions of Surgut after their presence within a year in different types of soils – swamp-podzolic soil, culturosem and urbanozem. The studied types of soils differ in their chemical composition – urbanozems are saturated with bases, have a slightly alkaline reaction, they also contain an excess of lead content due to their close location to highways. In the studied soils bacterial microflora prevails over mycoflora, the amount of heterotrophic and lithoautotrophic microflora in urbanozems is especially high, which is due to the high anthropogenic load on these soils. For seeds and seedlings of wheat and radish the stimulating effect of these soils was revealed. Micromycetes isolated from the surface of polypropylene and polyethylene pipes are typical soil saprotrophs that can act as biodestructors of polymers. In the field experiment all the materials under study are biostable, and there was a slight change in the color of the cross-linked polyethylene sample. In the laboratory experiment certain instability of all the materials under study was revealed; their gradation in terms of mushroom resistance (from resistant to unstable) is as follows: low-density polyethylene, polypropylene random-heat-resistant copolymer, polycarbonate, cross-linked polyethylene. The nature of damage to low-density polyethylene (polyethylene film) is superficial, which corresponds to the literature data.