Enhancement of biodegradation of plastic wastes via methane oxidation in semi-aerobic landfill

Muenmee, Sutharat; Chiemchaisri, Wilai; Chiemchaisri, Chart

doi:10.1016/j.ibiod.2016.03.016

Cited by 76 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Polyethylene degrading bacteria are often screened, in minimal salts culture medium containing plastic powder, or in n-Hexadecane, to select for plastic hydrolyzing microbes. Growth conditions, including temperature [31] and aeration [91], as well as the thickness of the PE film used as a substrate [50] all influence the efficiency of microbial degradation of PE.…”

Section: Experimental Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges with Verifying Microbial Degradation of Polyethylene

2020

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Polyethylene (PE) is the most abundant synthetic, petroleum-based plastic materials produced globally, and one of the most resistant to biodegradation, resulting in massive accumulation in the environment. Although the microbial degradation of polyethylene has been reported, complete biodegradation of polyethylene has not been achieved, and rapid degradation of polyethylene under ambient conditions in the environment is still not feasible. Experiments reported in the literature suffer from a number of limitations, and conclusive evidence for the complete biodegradation of polyethylene by microorganisms has been elusive. These limitations include the lack of a working definition for the biodegradation of polyethylene that can lead to testable hypotheses, a non-uniform description of experimental conditions used, and variations in the type(s) of polyethylene used, leading to a profound limitation in our understanding of the processes and mechanisms involved in the microbial degradation of polyethylene. The objective of this review is to outline the challenges in polyethylene degradation experiments and clarify the parameters required to achieve polyethylene biodegradation. This review emphasizes the necessity of developing a biochemically-based definition for the biodegradation of polyethylene (and other synthetic plastics) to simplify the comparison of results of experiments focused for the microbial degradation of polyethylene.

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Section: Experimental Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges with Verifying Microbial Degradation of Polyethylene

2020

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“…The LDPE degradation rate was reported as lowest in comparison to HDPE degradation. Muenmee et al (2016) conducted an experiment for HDPE and LDPE degradation with type I and type II methanotrophs, heterotrophs and nitrifying bacteria. Degradation was accomplished under lysimeters in different environmental conditions.…”

Section: Polyethylenementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Degradation was accomplished under lysimeters in different environmental conditions. Muenmee et al (2016) reported these microorganisms as prominent polymer (HDPE and LDPE) degraders, identified as Nitrosomonas sp. AL212, Nitrobacter winogradkyi, Burkholderia sp., Methylobactor sp., Methylococcus capsulatus, Methylocystic sp.…”

Section: Polyethylenementioning

confidence: 99%

Review on the current status of polymer degradation: a microbial approach

Pathak

Bithel

2017

Bioresour. Bioprocess.

568

241

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Inertness and the indiscriminate use of synthetic polymers leading to increased land and water pollution are of great concern. Plastic is the most useful synthetic polymer, employed in wide range of applications viz. the packaging industries, agriculture, household practices, etc. Unpredicted use of synthetic polymers is leading towards the accumulation of increased solid waste in the natural environment. This affects the natural system and creates various environmental hazards. Plastics are seen as an environmental threat because they are difficult to degrade. This review describes the occurrence and distribution of microbes that are involved in the degradation of both natural and synthetic polymers. Much interest is generated by the degradation of existing plastics using microorganisms. It seems that biological agents and their metabolic enzymes can be exploited as a potent tool for polymer degradation. Bacterial and fungal species are the most abundant biological agents found in nature and have distinct degradation abilities for natural and synthetic polymers.

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“…The polymers are broken down into shorter chains by microorganism enzymes, until they reach a small size (Mn ~500 g/mol) and are able to penetrate the bacterial membranes (Andrady, 2011;Shah et al, 2008). Muenmee et al (2016) also found that semi-aerobic condition in landfills enhanced the plastics biodegradation and decreased the methane emission. In aerobic conditions, biodegradation produces CO₂ and H₂O (Shah et al, 2008).…”

Section: >>>>>Insert Figure 1<<<mentioning

confidence: 94%

Physico-chemical properties of excavated plastic from landfill mining and current recycling routes

et al. 2018

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In Europe over 5.25 billion tonnes of waste has been landfilled between 1995 and 2015. Among this large amount of waste, plastic represents typically 5-25 wt% which is significant and has the potential to be recycled and reintroduced into the circular economy. To date there is still however little information available of the opportunities and challenges in recovering plastics from landfill sites. In this review, the impacts of landfill chemistry on the degradation and/or contamination of excavated plastic waste are analysed. The feasibility of using excavated plastic waste as feedstock for upcycling to valuable chemicals or liquid fuels through thermochemical conversion is also critically discussed. The limited degradation that is experienced by many plastics in landfills (>20 years) which guarantee that large amount is still available is largely due to thermooxidative degradation and the anaerobic conditions. However, excavated plastic waste cannot be conventionally recycled due to high level of ash, impurities and heavy metals. Recent studies demonstrated that pyrolysis offers a cost effective alternative option to conventional recycling. The produced pyrolysis oil is expected to have similar characteristics to petroleum diesel oil. The production of valuable product from excavated plastic waste will also increase the feasibility of enhanced landfill mining projects. However, further studies are needed to investigate the uncertainties about the contamination level and degradation of excavated plastic waste and address their viability for being processed through pyrolysis.

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Enhancement of biodegradation of plastic wastes via methane oxidation in semi-aerobic landfill

Cited by 76 publications

References 47 publications

Challenges with Verifying Microbial Degradation of Polyethylene

Challenges with Verifying Microbial Degradation of Polyethylene

Review on the current status of polymer degradation: a microbial approach

Physico-chemical properties of excavated plastic from landfill mining and current recycling routes

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