The Trick Is Making It Come Back: Polymer Degradability in Soil and Microbial Production of PHB

The Trick Is Making It Come Back: Polymer Degradability in Soil and Microbial Production of PHB

Abstrakt

Biodegradable polymer mulching foils are considered a potential way to reduce the accumulation of persistent plastic residues in agricultural soils; however, their actual degradation behavior and interactions with soil microorganisms still require careful assessment. This study aims to explore the soil degradation of biodegradable polymer fragments (as a model of mulching-foil residues), focusing on polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), and polylactic acid (PLA) and using the degradradation product (such as lactic acid, 3- hydroxybutyrate) to produce new PHA via microbial consortium in soil. The aim is to make a circle of the synthesis, applications and polymer end-of-life – to make real that one man’s trash could be bacteria’s treasure. Fragments of mulching foils were incubated in agricultural soil to approximate field exposure conditions. After incubation, residual polymer fragments were recovered via density separation and analyzed as resting materials using physico-chemical methods to examine potential changes in their properties. Soil-derived bacterial communities were cultivated to assess their ability to produce intracellular polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), and polymer biosynthesis was verified using FTIR and gas chromatography, which enabled the detection of PHA. The results indicate that soil microorganisms may not only contribute to the degradation of biodegradable mulching foils but could also, under suitable conditions, synthesize biopolyesters from available carbon sources. These observations suggest that soil functions as an active biological environment influencing polymer transformation, and they point toward the potential – though not yet fully verified – role of biodegradable mulching materials.

Biodegradable polymer mulching foils are considered a potential way to reduce the accumulation of persistent plastic residues in agricultural soils; however, their actual degradation behavior and interactions with soil microorganisms still require careful assessment. This study aims to explore the soil degradation of biodegradable polymer fragments (as a model of mulching-foil residues), focusing on polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), and polylactic acid (PLA) and using the degradradation product (such as lactic acid, 3- hydroxybutyrate) to produce new PHA via microbial consortium in soil. The aim is to make a circle of the synthesis, applications and polymer end-of-life – to make real that one man’s trash could be bacteria’s treasure. Fragments of mulching foils were incubated in agricultural soil to approximate field exposure conditions. After incubation, residual polymer fragments were recovered via density separation and analyzed as resting materials using physico-chemical methods to examine potential changes in their properties. Soil-derived bacterial communities were cultivated to assess their ability to produce intracellular polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), and polymer biosynthesis was verified using FTIR and gas chromatography, which enabled the detection of PHA. The results indicate that soil microorganisms may not only contribute to the degradation of biodegradable mulching foils but could also, under suitable conditions, synthesize biopolyesters from available carbon sources. These observations suggest that soil functions as an active biological environment influencing polymer transformation, and they point toward the potential – though not yet fully verified – role of biodegradable mulching materials.

GUZIUROVÁ, P.; KREMPASKÁ, V.; SEDLÁČEK, P.; OBRUČA, S.

13.04.2026

AMCA, spol. s.r.o.

Praha

978-80-88214-63-2

Book of Abstracts ICCT 2026 Mikulov

112

113

2

https://amca-admin.rachel.puxdesign.cz/ICCT/media/2026/book_of_abstracts_-icct2026.pdf