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Biochar immobilized hydrolase degrades PET microplastics and alleviates the disturbance of soil microbial function via modulating nitrogen and phosphorus cycles
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Researchers developed a new tool using biochar combined with a plastic-eating enzyme to break down PET microplastics in soil. The approach achieved nearly 30% weight loss of PET particles and helped restore healthy nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in the soil by shifting microbial communities, offering a promising strategy for addressing microplastic contamination in agricultural land.
Microplastics (MPs) pose an emerging threat to soil ecological function, yet effective solutions remain limited. This study introduces a novel approach using magnetic biochar immobilized PET hydrolase (MB-LCC-FDS) to degrade soil polyethylene terephthalate microplastics (PET-MPs). MB-LCC-FDS exhibited a 1.68-fold increase in relative activity in aquatic solutions and maintained 58.5 % residual activity after five consecutive cycles. Soil microcosm experiment amended with MB-LCC-FDS observed a 29.6 % weight loss of PET-MPs, converting PET into mono(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (MHET). The generated MHET can subsequently be metabolized by soil microbiota to release terephthalic acid. The introduction of MB-LCC-FDS shifted the functional composition of soil microbiota, increasing the relative abundances of Microbacteriaceae and Skermanella while reducing Arthobacter and Vicinamibacteraceae. Metagenomic analysis revealed that MB-LCC-FDS enhanced nitrogen fixation, P-uptake and transport, and organic-P mineralization in PET-MPs contaminated soil, while weakening the denitrification and nitrification. Structural equation model indicated that changes in soil total carbon and Simpson index, induced by MB-LCC-FDS, were the driving factors for soil carbon and nitrogen transformation. Overall, this study highlights the synergistic role of magnetic biochar-immobilized PET hydrolase and soil microbiota in degrading soil PET-MPs, and enhances our understanding of the microbiome and functional gene responses to PET-MPs and MB-LCC-FDS in soil systems.
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