Journal
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
Volume 833, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155251
Keywords
Biodegradable microplastic; Biofilm colonization; Poly(butylene succinate); Heavy metal; Biodegradation
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [21976136, 22176149, 21777120]
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This study investigated the adsorption behavior of Pb(II) onto biodegradable poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) microplastics during its biodegradation. The results showed that the Pb(II) adsorption capacity of biofilm-colonized biodegraded-PBS microplastics was about 10 times higher than that of virgin PBS. Even after removing the biofilm, the biodegraded PBS still had high Pb(II) adsorption capacity due to the complexation of Pb(II) with the adhered extracellular polymeric substances (EPS).
Few studies have mentioned the enrichment of heavy metal pollutants on microplastics derived from degradable plastics. This study investigated the adsorption behavior of Pb(II) onto biodegradable poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) microplastics during its biodegradation. The results indicated that Pb(II) adsorbed by biofilm-colonized biodegraded-PBS microplastics (B-PBS) was about 10-folds higher than that of virgin PBS (647.09 mu g.g(-1) versus 64.13 mu g.g(-1)) due to the biofilm colonization and the degradation of PBS. After removing the biofilm, the biodegraded PBS still had high Pb(II) adsorption capacity, which was attributed to the complexation of Pb(II) and the stably adhered extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Pb(II) adsorption onto both virgin PBS and B-PBS was highly pH-dependent, its adsorption on virgin PBS was dominated by electrostatic interaction, while as for B-PBS, the adsorption mechanisms mainly involved the coordination/complexation of Pb(II) and the EPS components on the colonized biofilm, surface complexation, and electrostatic interaction. This study suggested that the enrichment of heavy metal pollutants onto the biodegradable microplastics may pose risks to the aquatic ecosystem.
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