This review focuses on the characteristics of the most widely used biopolymers that contain starch, polylactic acid, cellulose and/or polybutylene succinate. Because worldwide production of bio-based ...materials has grown dynamically, their waste is increasingly found in the existing waste treatment plants. The development of recycling methods for bio-based materials remains a challenge in the implementation of a circular economy. This article summarizes the recycling methods for bio-based materials, which, in the hierarchy of waste management, is much more desirable than landfilling. Several methods of recycling are available for the end-of-life management of bio-based products, which include mechanical (reuse of waste as a valuable raw material for further processing), chemical (feedstock recycling) and organic (anaerobic digestion or composting) ones. The use of chemical or mechanical recycling is less favourable, more costly and requires the improvement of systems for separation of bio-based materials from the rest of the waste stream. Organic recycling can be a sustainable alternative to those two methods. In organic recycling, bio-based materials can be biologically treated under aerobic or anaerobic conditions, depending on the characteristics of the materials. The choice of the recycling method to be implemented depends on the economic situation and on the properties of the bio-based products and their susceptibility to degradation. Thus, it is necessary to label the products to indicate which method of recycling is most appropriate.
Bisphenol A (BPA), with its wide array of products and applications, is currently one of the most commonly produced chemicals in the world. A narrow pool of data on BPA-microorganism-plant ...interaction mechanisms has stimulated the following research, the aim of which has been to determine the response of the soil microbiome and crop plants, as well as the activity of soil enzymes exposed to BPA pressure. A range of disturbances was assessed, based on the activity of seven soil enzymes, an abundance of five groups of microorganisms, and the structural diversity of the soil microbiome. The condition of the soil was verified by determining the values of the indices: colony development (CD), ecophysiological diversity (EP), the Shannon-Weaver index, and the Simpson index, tolerance of soil enzymes, microorganisms and plants (TI
), biochemical soil fertility (BA
), the ratio of the mass of aerial parts to the mass of plant roots (PR), and the leaf greenness index: Soil and Plant Analysis Development (SPAD). The data brought into sharp focus the adverse effects of BPA on the abundance and ecophysiological diversity of fungi. A change in the structural composition of bacteria was noted. Bisphenol A had a more beneficial effect on the
than on bacteria from the phyla
or
. The microbiome of the soil exposed to BPA was numerously represented by bacteria from the genus
. In this object pool, the highest fungal OTU richness was achieved by the genus
, a representative of the phylum
. A dose of 1000 mg BPA kg
d.m. of soil depressed the activity of dehydrogenases, urease, acid phosphatase and
-glucosidase, while increasing that of alkaline phosphatase and arylsulfatase. Spring oilseed rape and maize responded significantly negatively to the soil contamination with BPA.
The choice of the study objective was affected by numerous controversies and concerns around bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol S (BPS)-analogues of bisphenol A (BPA). The study focused on the ...determination and comparison of the scale of the BPA, BPF, and BPS impact on the soil microbiome and its enzymatic activity. The following parameters were determined in soil uncontaminated and contaminated with BPA, BPF, and BPS: the count of eleven groups of microorganisms, colony development (CD) index, microorganism ecophysiological diversity (EP) index, genetic diversity of bacteria and activity of dehydrogenases (Deh), urease (Ure), catalase (Cat), acid phosphatase (Pac), alkaline phosphatase (Pal), arylsulphatase (Aryl) and
-glucosidase (Glu). Bisphenols A, S and F significantly disrupted the soil homeostasis. BPF is regarded as the most toxic, followed by BPS and BPA. BPF and BPS reduced the abundance of
and
and increased that of
. Unique types of bacteria were identified as well as the characteristics of each bisphenol:
for BPA,
for BPF and
for BPS. Considering the strength of a negative impact of bisphenols on the soil biochemical activity, they can be arranged as follows: BPS > BPF > BPA. Urease and arylsulphatase proved to be the most susceptible and dehydrogenases the least susceptible to bisphenols pressure, regardless of the study duration.
Pyrethroids are insecticides most commonly used for insect control to boost agricultural production. The aim of the present research was to determine the effect of permethrin and cypermethrin on ...cultured and non-cultivated bacteria and fungi and on the activity of soil enzymes, as well as to determine the usefulness of
in mitigating the adverse effects of the tested pyrethroids on the soil microbiome. The analyses were carried out in the samples of both soil not sown with any plant and soil sown with
. Permethrin and cypermethrin were found to stimulate the multiplication of cultured organotrophic bacteria (on average by 38.3%) and actinomycetes (on average by 80.2%), and to inhibit fungi growth (on average by 31.7%) and the enzymatic activity of the soil, reducing the soil biochemical fertility index (BA) by 27.7%. They also modified the number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of the
and
phyla and the
and
phyla. The pressure of permethrin and cypermethrin was tolerated well by the bacteria
(clone 3214512, 1052559, 237613, 1048605) and
(clone New.ReferenceOTU111, 593219, 578257), and by the fungi
(SH1533734.08FU, SH1692798.08FU) and
(SH1615601.08FU). Both insecticides disturbed the growth and yielding of
, as a result of which its yield and leaf greenness index decreased. The cultivation of
had a positive effect on both soil enzymes and soil microorganisms and mitigated the anomalies caused by the tested insecticides in the microbiome and activity of soil enzymes. Permethrin decreased the yield of its aerial parts by 37.9% and its roots by 33.9%, whereas respective decreases caused by cypermethrin reached 16.8% and 4.3%.
Chromium is used in many settings, and hence, it can easily enter the natural environment. It exists in several oxidation states. In soil, depending on its oxidation-reduction potential, it can occur ...in bivalent, trivalent or hexavalent forms. Hexavalent chromium compounds are cancerogenic to humans. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Cr(VI) on the structure of bacteria and fungi in soil, to find out how this effect is modified by humic acids and to determine the response of
to this form of chromium. A pot experiment was conducted to answer the above questions.
was sown in natural soil and soil polluted with Cr(VI) in an amount of 60 mg kg
d.m. Both soils were treated with humic acids in the form of HumiAgra preparation. The ecophysiological and genetic diversity of bacteria and fungi was assayed in soil under maize (not sown with
). In addition, the following were determined: yield of maize, greenness index, index of tolerance to chromium, translocation index and accumulation of chromium in the plant. It has been determined that Cr(VI) significantly distorts the growth and development of
, while humic acids completely neutralize its toxic effect on the plant. This element had an adverse effect on the development of bacteria of the genera
,
,
,
and
and fungi of the genera
. Soil contamination with Cr(VI) significantly diminished the genetic diversity and richness of bacteria and the ecophysiological diversity of fungi. The negative impact of Cr(VI) on the diversity of bacteria and fungi was mollified by
and the application of humic acids.
The concept of the study resulted from the lack of accurate data on the toxicity of bisphenol F (BPF) coinciding with the need for immediate changes in the global economic policy eliminating the ...effects of environmental contamination with bisphenol A (BPA). The aim of the experiment was to determine the scale of the previously unstudied inhibitory effect of BPF on soil biochemical activity. To this end, in a soil subjected to increasing BPF pressure at three contamination levels of 0, 5, 50 and 500 mg BPF kg
−1
DM, responses of soil enzymes, dehydrogenases, catalase, urease, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, arylsulphatase and
β
-glucosidase, were examined. Moreover, the study suggested a potentially effective way of biostimulating the soil by means of bioaugmentation with a consortium of four bacterial species:
Pseudomonas umsongensis
,
Bacillus mycoides
,
Bacillus weihenstephanensis
and
Bacillus subtilis
, and the following fungal species:
Mucor circinelloides
,
Penicillium daleae
,
Penicillium chrysogenum
and
Aspergillus niger
. It was found that BPF was a controversial BPA analogue due to the fact that it contributed to the inhibition of all the enzyme activities. Dehydrogenases proved to be the most sensitive to bisphenol contamination of the soil. The addition of 5 mg BPF kg
−1
DM of soil triggered an escalation of the inhibition comparable to that for the other enzymes only after exposing them to the effects of 50 and 500 mg BPF kg
−1
DM of soil. Moreover, BPF generated low activity of urease, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase and
β
-glucosidase. Bacterial inoculum increased the activity of urease,
β
-glucosidase, catalase and alkaline phosphatase. Seventy-six percent of BPF underwent biodegradation during the 5 days of the study.
As part of the multifaceted strategies developed to shape the common environmental policy, considerable attention is now being paid to assessing the degree of environmental degradation in soil under ...xenobiotic pressure. Bisphenol A (BPA) has only been marginally investigated in this ecosystem context. Therefore, research was carried out to determine the biochemical properties of soils contaminated with BPA at two levels of contamination: 500 mg and 1000 mg BPA kg−1 d.m. of soil. Reliable biochemical indicators of soil changes, whose activity was determined in the pot experiment conducted, were used: dehydrogenases, catalase, urease, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, arylsulfatase, and β-glucosidase. Using the definition of soil health as the ability to promote plant growth, the influence of BPA on the growth and development of Zea mays, a plant used for energy production, was also tested. As well as the biomass of aerial parts and roots, the leaf greenness index (SPAD) of Zea mays was also assessed. A key aspect of the research was to identify those of the six remediating substances—molecular sieve, zeolite, sepiolite, starch, grass compost, and fermented bark—whose use could become common practice in both environmental protection and agriculture. Exposure to BPA revealed the highest sensitivity of dehydrogenases, urease, and acid phosphatase and the lowest sensitivity of alkaline phosphatase and catalase to this phenolic compound. The enzyme response generated a reduction in the biochemical fertility index (BA21) of 64% (500 mg BPA) and 70% (1000 mg BPA kg−1 d.m. of soil). The toxicity of BPA led to a drastic reduction in root biomass and consequently in the aerial parts of Zea mays. Compost and molecular sieve proved to be the most effective in mitigating the negative effect of the xenobiotic on the parameters discussed. The results obtained are the first research step in the search for further substances with bioremediation potential against both soil and plants under BPA pressure.
Due to their ability to adsorb or absorb chemical pollutants, including organic compounds, sorbents are increasingly used in the reclamation of soils subjected to their pressure, which results from ...their high potential in eliminating xenobiotics. The precise optimization of the reclamation process is required, focused primarily on restoring the condition of the soil. This research are essential for seeking materials sufficiently potent to accelerate the remediation process and for expanding knowledge related to biochemical transformations that lead to the neutralization of these pollutants. The goal of this study was to determine and compare the sensitivity of soil enzymes to petroleum-derived products in soil sown with
, remediated using four sorbents. The study was conducted in a pot experiment, with loamy sand (LS) and sandy loam (SL) polluted with VERVA diesel oil (DO) and VERVA 98 petrol (P). Soil samples were collected from arable lands, and the effects of the tested pollutants were compared with those used as control uncontaminated soil samples in terms of
biomass and the activity of seven enzymes in the soil. The following sorbents were applied to mitigate DO and P effects on the test plants and enzymatic activity: molecular sieve (M), expanded clay (E), sepiolite (S), and Ikasorb (I). Both DO and P exerted a toxic effect on
, with DO more strongly disturbing its growth and development and the activities of soil enzymes than P. In sandy clay (SL), P was found to be a significant inhibitor of dehydrogenases (Deh), catalase (Cat), urease (Ure), alkaline phosphatase (Pal), and arylsulfatase (Aryl) activities, while DO stimulated the activity of all enzymes in this soil. The study results suggest that the sorbents tested, mainlya molecular sieve, may be useful in remediating DO-polluted soils, especially when alleviating the effects of these pollutants in soils of lower agronomic value.
The research objective was established by taking into account common sources of soil contamination with bisphenol A (B) and zinc (Zn
), as well as the scarcity of data on the effect of metabolic ...pathways involved in the degradation of organic compounds on the complexation of zinc in soil. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the spectrum of soil homeostasis disorders arising under the pressure of both the separate and combined toxicity of bisphenol A and Zn
. With a broad pool of indicators, such as indices of the effect of xenobiotics (IF
), humic acid (IF
), plants (IF
), colony development (CD), ecophysiological diversity (EP), the Shannon-Weaver and the Simpson indices, as well as the index of soil biological fertility (BA
), the extent of disturbances was verified on the basis of enzymatic activity, microbiological activity, and structural diversity of the soil microbiome. A holistic character of the study was achieved, having determined the indicators of tolerance (IT) of
(S) and
(P), the ratio of the mass of their aerial parts to roots (PR), and the SPAD leaf greenness index. Bisphenol A not only failed to perform a complexing role towards Zn
, but in combination with this heavy metal, had a particularly negative effect on the soil microbiome and enzymatic activity. The NGS analysis distinguished certain unique genera of bacteria in all objects, representing the phyla
and
, as well as fungi classified as members of the phyla
and
.
(S) proved to be more sensitive to the xenobiotics than
(P).
An undesirable side effect of economic progress is increasingly severe pollution with heavy metals, responsible for the degradation of ecosystems, including soil resources. Hence, this research ...focused on examining six adsorbents in order to distinguish a reactive mineral with the highest capacity to remediate soils contaminated with heavy metals. To this end, the soil was polluted with Co2+ and Cd2+ by applying the metals in concentrations of 100 mg kg−1 d.m. The extent of soil equilibrium disturbances was assessed by evaluating the response of the soil microbiome, activity of seven soil enzymes, and the yields of Helianthus annuus L. Six sorbents were evaluated: a molecular sieve, expanded clay (ExClay), halloysite, zeolite, sepiolite and biochar. Co2+ and Cd2+ proved to be significant inhibitors of the soil’s microbiological and biochemical parameters. Organotrophic bacteria among the analysed groups of microorganisms and dehydrogenases among the soil enzymes were most sensitive to the effects of the metals. Both metals significantly distorted the growth and development of sunflower, with Co2+ having a stronger adverse impact on the synthesis of chlorophyll. The molecular sieve and biochar were the sorbents that stimulated the multiplication of microorganisms and enzymatic activity in the contaminated soil. The activity of enzymes was also stimulated significantly by zeolite and sepiolite, while the growth of Helianthus annuus L. biomass was stimulated by the molecular sieve, which can all be considered the most useful reactive materials in the remediation of soils exposed to Co2+ and Cd2+.
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