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Screening of Bacterial Consortia for a Bioaugmented Bioassay of Flushable Wipes Biodegradation
Summary
This study screens bacterial consortia for their ability to biodegrade flushable wipes, which are a growing source of microplastic fiber contamination in wastewater. It evaluates whether bacteria can break down these wipe materials in bioassay conditions.
Wet wipes, used for hygienic and cleaning purposes, become a major technical problem for sewage and wastewater treatment facilities. In the meantime, these man-made products also represent a significant source of microplastic pollution in aquatic environments. The flushable wet wipes completely disintegrate, disperse, and biodegrade in the aquatic environment. Developing truly flushable wet wipes and reinforcing the regulation that should protect the sewage system and the environment requires bioassay for biodegradation. One of the main issues of the proposed standardized tests is the high variability of the microbial inoculum used for the biodegradation of the tested products. Our work aims to select bacterial consortia for a bioaugmented bioassay of the truly flushable wipes. We present preliminary results related to selecting such bacterial consortia. The bacterial strains were isolated from the biofilm formed in three wastewater plant. Consortia were formed based on mutual bacterial interactions. Biodegradation capacity was determined in a long-term experiment. The preliminary results support the idea of a bioaugmented bioassay of the flushable wipes.