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Biotechnological Routes for Microplastic Mitigation: Current Challenges and Future Opportunities in the Enzymatic Degradation of Synthetic Textile Waste
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Your synthetic clothes (polyester, nylon) shed tiny plastic fragments that pollute waterways and end up in our food and bodies, and traditional recycling methods often can't fully solve this problem. This review rounds up current research on using special enzymes—like ones borrowed from bacteria that naturally break down plastics—to dissolve these synthetic fabrics back into reusable building blocks, offering a more eco-friendly alternative to melting or chemically processing old clothes. While promising, the science is still developing, and researchers note we need more textile-specific studies to make this approach practical at scale.
The exponential growth of the global textile industry, largely driven by the demand for synthetic polymers such as poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), polyamides, and polyurethanes, has led to severe environmental consequences, notably the accumulation of persistent microplastics and solid waste. While conventional mechanical and chemical recycling methods are widely employed, they are often hindered by harsh processing conditions and the deterioration of material properties. Consequently, there is a critical need for sustainable end-of-life management strategies. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the biodegradability of synthetic textile fibres, with a primary focus on emerging biotechnological and enzymatic recycling approaches. It systematically examines the intrinsic polymer characteristics that govern biodegradation-including molecular orientation, crystallinity, functional groups, and fibre chemistry-as well as extrinsic factors such as textile finishings, yarn twist, polymer blends, and chemical additives. Furthermore, the current landscape of microbial and enzymatic degradation routes is critically assessed, highlighting the specific mechanisms of biocatalysts (e.g., lipases, cutinases, PETase, and MHETase) in depolymerising complex synthetic matrices into recoverable monomers. Finally, this review identifies the existing literature gap between bulk plastic and textile-specific biodegradation, discussing future perspectives. By bridging polymer science and textile engineering, this work underscores the potential of enzymatic recycling to close the loop in synthetic fibre production and advance the transition toward a circular economy.
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Environmental Impact of Textile Materials: Challenges in Fiber–Dye Chemistry and Implication of Microbial Biodegradation
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This review examines how the textile industry contributes to environmental pollution through both chemical dye waste and microplastic fiber release. Synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon shed non-biodegradable microfibers during manufacturing and washing, while the dyeing process generates contaminated wastewater. The paper highlights microbial biodegradation as a promising and cost-effective approach to breaking down both textile waste and the microplastics it produces.
Microfibers from textiles - A key source of microplastics to the environment: Fate, effects, and mitigation strategies
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Every time you wash clothes, tiny plastic fibers called microfibers shed from fabrics like polyester and nylon and wash into our rivers and oceans. This review pulls together existing research showing these fibers are one of the biggest sources of microplastic pollution—and since they can end up in the water we drink and the food we eat, scientists are working on ways to catch them before they spread, like better washing machine filters and improved fabric designs.
Textile Microplastics in Wastewater: A Critical Review of Removal and Carbonization Technologies
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This review study summarizes research on tiny plastic particles from clothes that get released when we wash synthetic fabrics like polyester, which then end up in our water systems. While water treatment plants can remove many of these microplastics, large amounts still build up in sewage, potentially contaminating our environment and food chain over time. Scientists are developing new ways to not only remove these plastic particles but also convert them into useful materials that can help clean polluted water.
Microplastics Unveiled: Origins, Environmental Risks and Biodegradation Solutions
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Millions of tons of plastic waste break down into tiny microplastics that now show up in our air, water, and soil, raising concerns for both ecosystems and human health. This review summarizes existing research on using bacteria and enzymes to break down these plastics, and highlights promising techniques like genetic engineering to make cleanup more effective. The findings point toward future solutions, though more research is still needed before these methods are widely usable.
Enzymes to make plastics disappear
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This review article discusses the problem of plastic waste accumulating in the environment, including the formation of microplastics, and explores the potential of engineered enzymes to break down synthetic polymers as a biological solution to plastic pollution.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.