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Differential effects of sulfide-induced transformation of biodegradable and conventional microplastics on sedimentary CO2 and CH4 emissions: Underlying microbiome-mediated mechanisms

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Jinying Hu, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Mengyu Ma, Mengyu Ma, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Jinying Hu, Yuanyuan Li, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Jinhui Huang Jinhui Huang, Jinhui Huang, Jinhui Huang, Wenjuan He, Mengyu Ma, Mengyu Ma, Jinhui Huang, Jinhui Huang, Jinhui Huang, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Zhexi Liu, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Zhexi Liu, Qi Qiao, Hanbo Yu, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Qi Qiao, Wenjuan He, Jinying Hu, Wenjuan He, Jinying Hu, Zhexi Liu, Jinying Hu, Zhexi Liu, Lizi Zhao, Jinying Hu, Lizi Zhao, Yuanyuan Li, Jinying Hu, Yuanyuan Li, Jinying Hu, Jinying Hu, Zhexi Liu, Jinying Hu, Hanbo Yu, Yuanyuan Li, Zhexi Liu, Mengyu Ma, Jinying Hu, Jinying Hu, Jinying Hu, Jinying Hu, Mengyu Ma, Mengyu Ma, Hanbo Yu, Mengyu Ma, Lin Shi, Lin Shi, Lin Shi, Lin Shi, Wenjuan He, Jinhui Huang Jinhui Huang, Zhexi Liu, Jinhui Huang, Wenjuan He, Jinhui Huang

Summary

Microplastics buried in sediments don't just sit inert — they interact with soil microbes in ways that affect how much methane and CO2 the sediment releases into the atmosphere. This incubation study found that fresh biodegradable plastic (PLA) dramatically increased greenhouse gas emissions, but once the plastic had aged through a chemical process called sulfidation, it actually suppressed them — while conventionally aged polyethylene had the opposite effect, boosting methane by stimulating methane-producing microbes. The findings complicate the assumption that biodegradable plastics are automatically better for the environment, and suggest that how plastics age underground matters as much as what they are made of.

Polymers

PE PLA

Study Type Environmental

The accumulation of microplastics (MPs) in sediments presents serious ecological risks. Although sulfidation is a key aging process in anoxic environments, its impact on sedimentary CO and CH emissions and underlying microbiome-mediated mechanisms remains unclear, particularly for biodegradable versus conventional MPs. Sediment incubation experiments with pristine and sulfidation-aged polyethylene (PE) and polylactic acid (PLA) revealed distinct carbon-related greenhouse gases patterns driven by material-specific microbial responses. Compared to controls, pristine PLA significantly enhanced cumulative CO and CH emissions by 4.47- and 2.59-fold, respectively, accelerating the CH emission peak due to its rapid carbon release. Conversely, sulfidation-aged PLA (PLA-S) reversed this trend, reducing CO emissions by 61.5%. This suppression was linked to an enriched microbiome (e.g., Acidobacteriota, ester-hydrolyzing Myxococcota) adapted to acidic stress, nitrogen fixation, and pathogenicity, likely diverted carbon flows. In contrast, sulfidation-aged PE (PE-S) exhibited surface oxidation, which led to a 36.7% increase in CH emissions, along with higher dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and microbial metabolic quotient (qCO). This shift correlated with the enrichment of alkane-degrading Methylomirabilota and Bacillota, potentially converting plastic-derived carbon into methane. These findings emphasize the necessity of considering MPs' natural aging (e.g., sulfidation) and material types (degradable vs. conventional) when assessing their ecological risks and roles in CO and CH emissions, revealing key microbiome mechanisms linking MPs to the global carbon cycle.

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