Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China; Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta 31527, Egypt.
Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2021 Aug 1;780:146590. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146590. Epub 2021 Mar 19.
The growing accumulation of plastic wastes is one of the main environmental challenges currently faced by modern societies. These wastes are considered a serious global problem because of their effects on all forms of life. There is thus an urgent need to demonstrate effective eco-environmental techniques to overcome the hazardous environmental impacts of traditional disposal paths. However, our current knowledge on the prevailing mechanisms and the efficacy of synthetic plastics' biodegradation still appears limited. Under this scope, our review aims to comprehensively highlight the role of microbes, with special emphasis on algae, on the entire plastic biodegradation process focusing on the depolarization of various synthetic plastic types. Moreover, our review emphasizes on the ability of insects' gut microbial consortium to degrade synthetic plastic wastes. In this view, we discuss the schematic pathway of the biodegradation process of six types of synthetic plastics. These findings may contribute to establishing bio-upcycling processes of plastic wastes towards biosynthesis of valuable metabolic products. Finally, we discuss the challenges and opportunities for microbial valorization of degraded plastic wastes.
塑料废物的日益积累是现代社会目前面临的主要环境挑战之一。由于这些废物对所有形式的生命都有影响，因此被认为是一个严重的全球性问题。因此，迫切需要展示有效的生态环保技术来克服传统处理途径对环境造成的危害。然而，我们目前对合成塑料生物降解的主要机制和效果的了解似乎仍然有限。在这个范围内，我们的综述旨在全面强调微生物的作用，特别强调藻类在整个塑料生物降解过程中的作用，重点是各种合成塑料类型的去极化。此外，我们的综述还强调了昆虫肠道微生物群落对合成塑料废物的降解能力。在这方面，我们讨论了六种类型的合成塑料生物降解过程的示意途径。这些发现可能有助于建立塑料废物的生物再循环过程，以合成有价值的代谢产物。最后，我们讨论了微生物对降解塑料废物进行增值利用的挑战和机遇。
