Analytical strategy to assess the microbial degradation of poly(butylene-adipate-co-terephthalate)/poly(lactic acid) films

Rosa Peñalver; Alba Martín de la Fuente; Natalia Arroyo-Manzanares; Natalia Campillo; Pilar Viñas; Margarita Ros; Jose Antonio Pascual

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142311

Analytical strategy to assess the microbial degradation of poly(butylene-adipate-co-terephthalate)/poly(lactic acid) films

Chemosphere. 2024 May 10:359:142311. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142311. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Rosa Peñalver¹, Alba Martín de la Fuente², Natalia Arroyo-Manzanares¹, Natalia Campillo¹, Pilar Viñas³, Margarita Ros², Jose Antonio Pascual²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, E-30100, Murcia, Spain.
² Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura (CEBAS-CSIC), Campus Universitario de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain.
³ Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, E-30100, Murcia, Spain. Electronic address: pilarvi@um.es.

PMID: 38735500
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142311

Abstract

Plastic is widely used in agricultural applications, but its waste has an adverse environmental impact and a long-term detrimental effect. The development of biodegradable plastics for agricultural use is increasing to mitigate plastic waste. The most commonly used biodegradable plastic is poly(butylene adipate co-terephthalate)/poly(lactic acid) (PBAT/PLA) polymer. In this study, an analytical procedure based on dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in combination with chemometrics has been optimized to assess the degradation level of PBAT/PLA films by monitoring their characteristic degradation products. Carboxylic acids (benzoic, phthalic, adipic, heptanoic, and octadecanoic acids) and 1,4-butanediol have been found to be potential markers of PBAT/PLA degradation. The DLLME-GC-MS analytical approach has been applied for the first time to assess the degradation efficiency of several microorganisms used as degradation accelerators of PBAT/PLA based on the assigned potential markers. This analytical strategy has shown higher sensitivity and precision than standard techniques, such as elemental analysis, allowing us to detect low degradation levels.

Keywords: Agriculture; Biodegradable plastics; DLLME-GC-MS; Microorganisms; PBAT/PLA.