Grantee Research Project Results
2022 Progress Report: Biodegradation of Microplastics in Water Treatment
EPA Grant Number: SU840153Title: Biodegradation of Microplastics in Water Treatment
Investigators: Lin, Xiaoxia “Nina” , Gardner, Erica , Tan, James , Nyitrai, Jeremy , Reno, Adam
Current Investigators: Lin, Xiaoxia “Nina”
Institution: University of Michigan
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: December 1, 2020 through November 30, 2021 (Extended to November 30, 2023)
Project Period Covered by this Report: December 1, 2021 through November 30,2022
Project Amount: $25,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2020) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
Objective:
Our objective is to investigate the potential for the biodegradation of plastics as a method to prevent or remediate plastic pollution. We have been developing replicable methodologies to investigate the microbial biodegradation of nonhydrolyzable plastics, by examining the polystyrene(PS)-biodegrading microbiome of the mealworm Tenebrio molitor. We will also summarizes our knowledge on the feasibility of plastic biodegradation in wastewater treatment plants in a critical review paper.
Progress Summary:
We have developed a DNA extraction protocol to investigate the plastic-biodegrading microbiome of mealworms and are currently applying it to an experiment investigating the changes in the mealworm microbiome over time. Additionally, we have set up cultures to enrich for PS-biodegrading microbes from the mealworm guts and observed growth.
Future Activities:
We have optimized the DNA extraction protocol and can use it to investigate the PSassociated microbiome of the Tenebrio molitor larvae with higher spatial resolution than previous methodologies. Primary enrichments inoculated from the mealworm gut have grown in carbon-free media with only PS as the added carbon source; these enrichments will be further characterized.
Supplemental Keywords:
Plastic biodegradation, microplastics, microbial consortia, wastewater treatment, sludgeProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.