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Research Progress in Microbial Degradation of Microplastics
Summary
This review summarizes recent progress in using microorganisms to degrade microplastics, covering bacteria, fungi, and algae capable of breaking down various plastic types. The study suggests that microbial degradation is an economically feasible and environmentally friendly approach compared to physical and chemical methods, though challenges remain in scaling up these processes.
Abstract The presence of microplastics is increasingly recognized as a major issue in environmental protection across the world, primarily as a result of their long-lasting nature and the potential harm they can inflict on ecosystems.Current methods for degrading microplastics include physical capture, chemical degradation and biological methods.Among them, microbial degradation has received much attention because it is economically feasible and environmentally friendly.This paper reviews the degrading microorganisms, microbial metabolites and microbial degradation mechanisms of three frequently utilized polymers, namely polyethylene, polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate, and analyses the current problems of microbial degradation of microplastics, in order to provide ideas for the research on the development of microplastic-degrading enzyme preparations.