Biodegradation of Emerging Contaminants

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental and Green Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 November 2024) | Viewed by 1722

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
The Northern Region Persistent Organic Pollution (NRPOP) Control Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X5, Canada
Interests: biodegradation; emerging contaminants; metagenomics; marine oil spills

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Guest Editor
School of Ocean, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, China
Interests: microbial biodegradation; coastal environments; antibiotics; hydrocarbons; emerging contaminants

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, growing numbers of non-regulated emerging contaminants have either been detected in the environment or identified as (potential) hazards to human health or ecosystems. They include, but are not limited to, microplastics and nanoplastyics, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), flame retardants, chemical surfactants, pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), etc. Emerging contaminants have been given significant and rapidly increasing attention due to their toxic, carcinogenic, and/or bio-accumulative properties and the associated long-term ecological and health risks. Biodegradation, mediated by robust organisms, is critical for mitigating these emerging contaminants via diverse metabolic pathways and microbial interactions.

This Special Issue aims to collect articles on the biodegradation of emerging contaminants. Potential topics covered by this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Analysis of biodegradation pathways and microbial communities during the biodegradation of emerging contaminants;
  • Characterization and intensification of robust organisms for the biodegradation of emerging contaminants;
  • Development of new methods to improve the understanding and application of biodegradation to treat emerging contaminants.

Original articles and reviews addressing these topics are welcomed.

Yours faithfully,

Dr. Yiqi Cao
Dr. Yongrui Pi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • biodegradation
  • emerging comtaminants
  • microbial community
  • biodegradation pathway
  • microplastics
  • per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
  • flame retardants
  • pharmaceutical and personal care products

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 2416 KiB  
Article
Biodegradation of Polyethylene Using Bacillus tropicus Isolated from Sewage Wastewater Treatment Plant
by Isha, Shakir Ali and Young-Cheol Chang
Processes 2024, 12(11), 2516; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12112516 - 12 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1347
Abstract
One of the most pressing environmental problems contemporary civilizations confront is the ever-increasing amount of plastic waste. Because of their impact on every living thing, these wastes are seen as a major issue on a global scale. To counteract the harmful environmental effects [...] Read more.
One of the most pressing environmental problems contemporary civilizations confront is the ever-increasing amount of plastic waste. Because of their impact on every living thing, these wastes are seen as a major issue on a global scale. To counteract the harmful environmental effects caused by conventional disposal methods, it is critical to show that eco-friendly alternatives are viable. Biodegradation is one of the best eco-friendly methods for removing plastic waste. In this study, we aimed to identify bacteria from sewage wastewater treatment plants (SWWs) that could degrade low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Bacterial strains isolated from sewerage wastewater were incubated for 120 days in 50 mL of minimal salt media (MSM) containing 60 mg of low-density polyethylene (LDPE). After four months, our research revealed that Bacillus tropicus (SH4) demonstrated significant potential, degrading the LDPE up to 21.6%. We observed the changes after biodegradation using FTIR, GC-MS, and SEM analysis. In conclusion, microorganisms extracted from sewage wastewater possess the ability to mitigate plastic contamination in aquatic ecosystems. Future proteomics and genome investigations are necessary to elucidate the enzymes and metabolic processes implicated in plastic breakdown. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradation of Emerging Contaminants)
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