Biodegradation of macro- and micro-plastics in environment: A review on mechanism, toxicity, and future perspectives

Bacha，Aziz Ur Rahim1; Nabi，Iqra2; Zaheer，Muhammad3; Jin，Wenbiao1; Yang，Lei1

2023-02-01

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160108

SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT   Impact Factor & Quartile

0048-9697

1879-1026

Plastic waste has gained remarkable research attention due to its accumulation, associated environmental issues, and impact on living organisms. In order to overcome this challenge, there is an urgent need for its removal from the environment. Under this menace, finding appropriate treatment methods like biodegradation instead of typical treatment methods is of supreme importance. However, there is a limited review on bio-decomposition of plastics, existing microbial species, their degradation efficacy, and mechanism. From this point of view, this study focused on a brief overview of biodegradation such as influencing factors on biodegradation, existing species for macro- and micro-plastics, and present research gap. Degradation percentage, limitations of existing species, and future recommendations are proposed. Microbial species such as bacteria, algae, and fungi have the ability to decompose plastics but they are unable to completely mineralize the plastics. Meanwhile, there is limited knowledge about the involved enzymes in plastics degradation, especially in the case of algae. Bio-decomposition of plastics requires more stringent conditions which are usually feasible for field application. This work will be a reference for new researchers to use this effective strategy for plastic pollution removal.

Algae Bacteria Biodegradation Fungi Microplastics

English

Others

Jiangxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology[2022KSG01004];National Natural Science Foundation of China[52111530188];National Natural Science Foundation of China[52170157];

ENVIRONMENT/ECOLOGY

2-s2.0-85141916917

Scopus

1.State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment,Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Organic Pollution Prevention and Control,School of Civil and Environmental Engineering,Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen,Shenzhen,518055,China
2.Department of Environmental Science and Engineering,Fudan University,Shanghai,200433,China
3.School of Microelectronics,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,518055,China

Bacha，Aziz Ur Rahim,Nabi，Iqra,Zaheer，Muhammad,et al. Biodegradation of macro- and micro-plastics in environment: A review on mechanism, toxicity, and future perspectives[J]. SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2023,858.

Bacha，Aziz Ur Rahim,Nabi，Iqra,Zaheer，Muhammad,Jin，Wenbiao,&Yang，Lei.(2023).Biodegradation of macro- and micro-plastics in environment: A review on mechanism, toxicity, and future perspectives.SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,858.

Bacha，Aziz Ur Rahim,et al."Biodegradation of macro- and micro-plastics in environment: A review on mechanism, toxicity, and future perspectives".SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 858(2023).