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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Assessing labelled carbon assimilation from poly butylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) monomers during thermophilic anaerobic digestion
ClearImpact of the thermo-alkaline pretreatment on the anaerobic digestion of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) blended plastics
Researchers tested whether a heat-and-alkali pretreatment could improve the breakdown of biodegradable plastics PBAT and PLA through anaerobic digestion. They found that pretreatment significantly improved methane production from PLA-containing blends but had limited effect on PBAT alone, which remained resistant to digestion. The results suggest that even plastics labeled as biodegradable may not break down easily in real-world composting and waste treatment systems.
Anaerobic Degradation of Aromatic and Aliphatic Biodegradable Plastics: Potential Mechanisms and Pathways.
This study examined how biodegradable plastics — PBAT and PLA — break down under anaerobic conditions in digestion systems, finding that microbial communities degrade them through distinct biochemical pathways. Understanding how biodegradable plastics decompose in real-world conditions like landfills and wastewater treatment is important for evaluating whether they truly degrade safely.
Microplastics in sewage sludge destined to anaerobic digestion: The potential role of thermal pretreatment
Researchers found that thermal pretreatment of sewage sludge at 120°C did not degrade conventional PET microplastics but did alter biodegradable microplastics, which also boosted methane production during anaerobic digestion, raising concerns about how different microplastic types behave in sludge treatment.
Biorefining of Thermoplastic Starch via Depolymerization and Methane Arrested Anaerobic Digestion
This study explored whether biodegradable thermoplastic starch packaging could be broken down into useful chemicals through a combination of heat treatment and anaerobic digestion. Higher temperatures accelerated breakdown but also produced microplastics, as the material contains PBAT and PLA plastic co-polymers. The work highlights a tension in biodegradable plastic design: materials marketed as eco-friendly can still generate microplastic fragments and resist full biological conversion without specialized industrial processing.
Thermal hydrolysis intensifies the targeted inhibition of polyethylene terephthalate microplastics on anaerobic methanogenesis in sludge: Path identification and quantitative mechanism research
Researchers found that thermal hydrolysis pretreatment intensifies the inhibitory effects of polyethylene terephthalate microplastics on anaerobic methanogenesis in sludge by altering transformation pathways, and quantified the relative contributions of these pathways using isotopic labeling and metabolic flux analysis.
Abiotic degradation of PBAT and LDPE: quantification of generated products by carbon assessment
Researchers exposed industrial PBAT and LDPE plastic beads to UV radiation and water agitation to generate microplastics, nanoplastics, soluble compounds, and volatile products, then quantified all degradation products using total organic carbon analysis coupled with elemental analysis for a comprehensive carbon budget assessment. They found that PBAT degraded very differently from LDPE under abiotic conditions, with LDPE producing significantly more microplastics while PBAT's complete environmental behavior remains incompletely described despite its efficiency in industrial composting.
Biodegradation of poly(butylene adipate terephthalate) and poly(vinyl alcohol) within aquatic pathway
Researchers traced the biodegradation of two common biodegradable plastics through simulated aquatic pathways and found that prior exposure to wastewater accelerates breakdown of PBAT in seawater, while PVA degrades similarly regardless of prior environment — with microbial community composition shifting distinctly for each plastic.
Biodegradation of poly(butylene succinate) in soil laboratory incubations assessed by stable carbon isotope labelling
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.
Can anaerobic digestion be a suitable end-of-life scenario for biodegradable plastics? A critical review of the current situation, hurdles, and challenges
Researchers reviewed the feasibility of anaerobic digestion (AD) as an end-of-life treatment for biodegradable plastics, identifying process parameters, microbial communities, and pretreatment strategies that influence degradation rates and arguing that AD deserves more research attention alongside industrial composting.
Fate of polylactic acid microplastics during anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste: Insights on property changes, released dissolved organic matters, and biofilm formation
Polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics were tracked through the anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste, revealing that PLA particles underwent surface changes and released dissolved organic matter but were not fully degraded during the process. The study shows that even supposedly biodegradable plastics can persist and alter biofilm formation in anaerobic digestion systems.
Abiotic degradation of PBAT and LDPE: quantification of generated products by carbon assessment
Researchers conducted a comprehensive carbon-based quantification of all abiotic degradation products generated when industrial PBAT (a biodegradable polyester) and LDPE (a conventional polyester) pellets were exposed to environmental conditions, characterising microplastic fragments, soluble molecules, and volatile compounds. The study provides the first complete carbon-balance assessment of plastic degradation outputs for these polymers, offering a framework for understanding the full scope of plastic fragmentation pollution.
Fate and effect of Polyamide-6 microplastics in mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion
This study examined the fate and impact of polyamide-6 microplastics during mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion, finding that digestion temperature affects polymer degradation rates and that microplastics influence methane production and microbial communities.
Inhibition of aged microplastics and leachates on methane production from anaerobic digestion of sludge and identification of key components
Researchers investigated the effects of aged microplastics and their leachates on sludge anaerobic digestion, finding that aged PVC and PET significantly inhibited methane production, with phthalate esters and bisphenol A identified as key inhibitory components.
Occurrence, effects, and biodegradation of plastic additives in sludge anaerobic digestion: A review
This review examines how plastic additives leached from microplastics retained in municipal sludge can affect anaerobic digestion performance, and discusses the biodegradation potential and risks of these additives during sludge treatment.
Isolation, characteristics, and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) degradation mechanism of a marine bacteria Roseibium aggregatum ZY-1
Scientists isolated a marine bacterium called Roseibium aggregatum ZY-1 that can break down PBAT, a type of biodegradable plastic. The research revealed the specific enzymes and metabolic pathways the bacterium uses to degrade PBAT into its basic building blocks, suggesting it could be a promising candidate for tackling plastic pollution in ocean environments.
Impact of micro-nanoplastics on biochemical phases of anaerobic digestion in sewage sludge treatment: mechanistic insights and future prospects
Micro- and nanoplastics were found to disrupt the biochemical phases of anaerobic digestion, affecting the efficiency of the biological process used to treat organic waste. Understanding these impacts is important because anaerobic digestion is a common wastewater and sludge treatment method that may both receive and process microplastic-contaminated materials.
Poly (butylene adipate terephthalate) degradation products and their influence on plant progression and soil microbial diversity
This study examined how the biodegradable plastic PBAT degrades in soil and what effects its degradation products have on Chinese cabbage growth and soil microbial diversity, finding that degradation varied with particle size and that soil microbiomes shifted as PBAT broke down. The findings matter for assessing whether "biodegradable" mulch films truly disappear benignly or leave behind microplastic fragments and microbial disruption in agricultural soils.
Fate of a biobased polymer via high-solid anaerobic co-digestion with food waste and following aerobic treatment: Insights on changes of polymer physicochemical properties and the role of microbial and fungal communities
PBAT/PLA biopolymer bags were co-digested with food waste in an anaerobic digestion plant and then subjected to aerobic composting, with only partial degradation achieved under both conditions and the remaining polymer fragments altering microbial community composition, raising questions about bioplastic end-of-life claims.
Thermophilic anaerobic digestion of polylactic acid, polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics: effect of inoculum-substrate ratio and microbiome
Researchers tested thermophilic and mesophilic anaerobic digestion of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polylactic acid microplastics at different substrate ratios to assess methane production and MP degradation. PLA showed greater degradation under thermophilic conditions, while PE and PP were largely resistant to both digestion temperatures.
Stability and Mobility of Biodegradable Nanoplastics in the Subsurface
Researchers studied the stability and mobility of biodegradable nanoplastics derived from polybutylene adipate co-terephthalate (PBAT) agricultural mulch in both pristine and weathered forms under varying soil and water conditions, finding that fragmentation products can persist and migrate through subsurface flow despite the biodegradable designation.
The occurrence and fate of microplastics in a mesophilic anaerobic digester receiving sewage sludge, grease, and fatty slurries
Researchers analyzed microplastic loads entering and leaving a mesophilic anaerobic digester at a wastewater treatment plant serving nearly 800,000 people. They found that the digester received approximately 7,326 kg of microplastics per year, with digested sludge containing about 30% less, though this reduction was within the variability of the measurements. The study provides important data on the fate of microplastics during sewage sludge treatment processes.
Quantitative methodology for poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) microplastic detection in soil and compost
Researchers developed a GC-MS method using fatty acid methyl ester derivatization to quantify PBAT biodegradable microplastics in soil and compost, validated through an industrial composting experiment. The method tracked PBAT film mass loss and particle formation during degradation, providing a novel analytical tool for assessing biodegradable plastic fate in agricultural and composting environments.
Investigating the Fate of Bio-based Plastics in Anaerobic Digestion
This study tested the breakdown of three types of bio-based food packaging plastics in anaerobic digesters over 26 weeks, assessing how well they degrade under conditions similar to industrial composting. Understanding whether bio-based plastics truly break down in real waste treatment settings is critical to evaluating their environmental claims.
Characterization of poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) PBAT co- polyesters degrading bacteria from farmland soil of Xinjiang
Researchers isolated and characterized bacteria from farmland soil capable of degrading PBAT, a biodegradable plastic used as mulch film. Identifying microbes that can break down agricultural plastics offers a biological approach to reducing long-term microplastic accumulation in soils that grow food.