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Biodegradation of poly(butylene succinate) in soil laboratory incubations assessed by stable carbon isotope labelling
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Researchers used carbon isotope labeling to precisely track how biodegradable plastic (poly(butylene succinate)) breaks down in agricultural soil over more than a year, finding that 65% fully converted to CO2 while the rest integrated into the soil. This new tracking method provides a reliable way to evaluate whether "biodegradable" plastics actually decompose as claimed in real soil conditions.
Using biodegradable instead of conventional plastics in agricultural applications promises to help overcome plastic pollution of agricultural soils. However, analytical limitations impede our understanding of plastic biodegradation in soils. Utilizing stable carbon isotope (13C-)labelled poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), a synthetic polyester, we herein present an analytical approach to continuously quantify PBS mineralization to 13CO2 during soil incubations and, thereafter, to determine non-mineralized PBS-derived 13C remaining in the soil. We demonstrate extensive PBS mineralization (65 % of added 13C) and a closed mass balance on PBS-13C over 425 days of incubation. Extraction of residual PBS from soils combined with kinetic modeling of the biodegradation data and results from monomer (i.e., butanediol and succinate) mineralization experiments suggest that PBS hydrolytic breakdown controlled the overall PBS biodegradation rate. Beyond PBS biodegradation in soil, the presented methodology is broadly applicable to investigate biodegradation of other biodegradable polymers in various receiving environments.
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Scientists tracked how four types of plastic — a conventional bag, two biodegradable plastics, and an oxo-degradable straw — break down in soil over 185 days using a carbon isotope technique. Even the most degradable plastic (a biodegradable bin liner) only mineralised 5.7% of its carbon, while conventional plastic bags barely degraded at 0.3%. Crucially, all plastics also triggered a 'priming effect' that accelerated the breakdown of existing soil organic carbon, meaning microplastics don't just persist — they alter the soil chemistry around them.
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Researchers reviewed the evidence on how bioplastics degrade in agricultural soils, finding that commonly used analytical techniques overestimate biodegradation rates because they measure surface changes rather than full carbon mineralization, meaning biodegradable microplastic residues may persist across seasons under realistic conditions.
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Scientists found that "biodegradable" plastics breaking down in soil don't just disappear harmlessly, they can actually speed up the breakdown of natural soil carbon that's been stored there for a long time, releasing it as CO2. This matters because soil is one of the planet's biggest carbon storage systems, and disrupting it could affect climate change, plus it raises questions about whether these eco-friendly plastic alternatives are truly better for the environment than we assumed.
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Researchers developed a novel isotope-tracing approach to track how carbon from biodegradable mulch films enters soil microbial biomass, organic matter, and CO2, distinguishing between catabolic and anabolic pathways. The study provides improved understanding of the fate of biodegradable mulch polymer carbon in agroecosystems, with implications for evaluating biodegradable mulch as a substitute for conventional plastic films.
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Researchers used stable isotope tracing to show that biodegradable PBSA plastic decomposition in soil triggered a strong priming effect, increasing soil organic matter breakdown by over 100%, even though only 4-5% of the plastic itself was mineralized over 80 days.
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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.