From microbes to ecosystems: a review of the ecological effects of biodegradable plastics.
From microbes to ecosystems: a review of the ecological effects of biodegradable plastics.
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DOI：
10.1042/etls20220015
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发表时间：
2022-09
影响因子：
3.8
通讯作者：
Winnie Courtene-Jones;Ana Martínez Rodríguez;R. Handy
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Winnie Courtene-Jones;Ana Martínez Rodríguez;R. Handy
可生物降解塑料已被提出作为塑料污染的潜在解决方案，因为它们可以通过微生物作用生物降解成其元素成分。然而，可生物降解塑料的降解速率在不同环境中变化很大，导致塑料颗粒、化学共污染物和/或降解产物的积累。本文综述了生物降解塑料对物种和生态系统的毒理学效应，并将这些影响与以前报道的传统聚合物进行了比较。虽然与传统塑料相比，生物可降解塑料及其共污染物对生物组织水平的影响研究甚少，但有证据表明，个体水平的影响可能大致相似。相关毒性的差异可能是由于生物可降解聚合物的化学结构，这应有助于酶促解聚和微生物群落对聚合物碳的利用。碳的输入可以改变微生物的组成，导致碳降解细菌和真菌的富集，这可能对碳和氮动态产生更广泛的影响。此外，在生物降解过程中有可能形成有毒降解产物，但对降解产物的环境浓度和影响缺乏了解。随着全球生物可降解聚合物产量的不断增加，需要进一步评估其对生物和生态系统功能的生态毒理学影响。
Biodegradable plastics have been proposed as a potential solution to plastic pollution, as they can be biodegraded into their elemental components by microbial action. However, the degradation rate of biodegradable plastics is highly variable across environments, leading to the potential for accumulation of plastic particles, chemical co-contaminants and/or degradation products. This paper reviews the toxicological effects of biodegradable plastics on species and ecosystems, and contextualises these impacts with those previously reported for conventional polymers. While the impacts of biodegradable plastics and their co-contaminants across levels of biological organisation are poorly researched compared with conventional plastics, evidence suggests that individual-level effects could be broadly similar. Where differences in the associated toxicity may arise is due to the chemical structure of biodegradable polymers which should facilitate enzymatic depolymerisation and the utilisation of the polymer carbon by the microbial community. The input of carbon can alter microbial composition, causing an enrichment of carbon-degrading bacteria and fungi, which can have wider implications for carbon and nitrogen dynamics. Furthermore, there is the potential for toxic degradation products to form during biodegradation, however understanding the environmental concentration and effects of degradation products are lacking. As global production of biodegradable polymers continues to increase, further evaluation of their ecotoxicological effects on organisms and ecosystem function are required.