Marine Environmental Plastic Pollution: Mitigation by Microorganism Degradation and Recycling Valorization

Frontiers in Marine Science

Verônica D. da Silva¹  Juliana Oliveira¹  Nídia D. Lourenço²  Ana Rotter³  Pedro L. Almeida³  Željko Petrovski³  Susana P. Gaudêncio⁵  Afonso Belchior⁷ 

[1] Biomedicine Lab, School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal;I3N – CENIMAT, Materials Science Department, School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal;LAQV– REQUIMTE, Chemistry Department, School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal;Marine Biology Station Piran, National Institute of Biology, Piran, Slovenia;Physics Department, Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal;UCIBIO – Applied Biomolecular Sciences Unit, Chemistry Department, BIOENG Lab, School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal;;UCIBIO – Applied Biomolecular Sciences Unit, Chemistry Department, Blue Biotechnology &

关键词: plastic and microplastic pollution;    biodegradation;    marine debris;    actinobacteria;    chemical recycling;    bioplastic production;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmars.2020.567126

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Plastics are very useful materials and present numerous advantages in the daily life of individuals and society. However, plastics are accumulating in the environment and due to their low biodegradability rate, this problem will persist for centuries. Until recently, oceans were treated as places to dispose of litter, thus the persistent substances are causing serious pollution issues. Plastic and microplastic waste has a negative environmental, social, and economic impact, e.g., causing injury/death to marine organisms and entering the food chain, which leads to health problems. The development of solutions and methods to mitigate marine (micro)plastic pollution is in high demand. There is a knowledge gap in this field, reason why research on this thematic is increasing. Recent studies reported the biodegradation of some types of polymers using different bacteria, biofilm forming bacteria, bacterial consortia, and fungi. Biodegradation is influenced by several factors, from the type of microorganism to the type of polymers, their physicochemical properties, and the environment conditions (e.g., temperature, pH, UV radiation). Currently, green environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic made from renewable feedstocks are starting to enter the market. This review covers the period from 1964 to April 2020 and comprehensively gathers investigation on marine plastic and microplastic pollution, negative consequences of plastic use, and bioplastic production. It lists the most useful methods for plastic degradation and recycling valorization, including degradation mediated by microorganisms (biodegradation) and the methods used to detect and analyze the biodegradation.

【 授权许可】

Unknown