Key Laboratory for Advanced Textile Composites of the Education Ministry, School of Textile Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Textiles of Shandong Province, Qingdao, People's Republic of China.
Environ Technol. 2023 Aug;44(20):3121-3130. doi: 10.1080/09593330.2022.2052359. Epub 2022 Apr 25.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is an important basic polymer, which was used widely in variety of fields. Due to its high crystallinity, compact structure and strong surface hydrophobicity, PET has prominent resistance to biodegradation. In recent years, microplastics, especially polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics, was considered as serious threaten to ecosystems. In this study, alkali-resistant bacteria were used as whole-cell catalysts to try to improve the biodegradation of PET microplastics by increasing the bio-interfacial activity of the polymer substrate. Surfactants were applicated to enhance interfacial activation of enzyme and PET interactions. And an integrated strategy was constructed based on alkali resistant bacteria to catalysis the hydrolysis of PET. The results showed that Tween 20 had the most obvious promoting effect among the four interfacial biocatalysts on biological-chemical combined hydrolysis of PET microplastics with whole-cell biocatalysts in alkaline environment. Obvious etching and fracture were observed on the PET fibre surface after biodegradation in presence of surfactant. The weight loss rate of PET substrate can reach 11.04% after 5 days of biodegradation. Thus, this research provides a promising method for efficient degradation of PET microplastics.
聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯（PET）是一种重要的基础聚合物，广泛应用于各种领域。由于其高结晶度、致密的结构和较强的表面疏水性，PET 具有突出的抗生物降解性。近年来，微塑料，特别是聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯（PET）微塑料，被认为是对生态系统的严重威胁。在本研究中，耐碱细菌被用作全细胞催化剂，通过增加聚合物底物的生物界面活性来尝试提高 PET 微塑料的生物降解性。表面活性剂被应用于增强酶和 PET 相互作用的界面活化。并基于耐碱细菌构建了一种集成策略，用于催化 PET 的水解。结果表明，在碱性环境中，与全细胞生物催化剂相比，四种界面生物催化剂中，吐温 20 对 PET 微塑料的生物-化学联合水解具有最明显的促进作用。在表面活性剂存在的情况下，PET 纤维表面观察到明显的蚀刻和断裂。在 5 天的生物降解后，PET 基质的失重率可达到 11.04%。因此，这项研究为 PET 微塑料的高效降解提供了一种有前景的方法。
