A systematic review on bioplastic-soil interaction: Exploring the effects of residual bioplastics on the soil geoenvironment

Charakho N Chah; Arnab Banerjee; Vinay Kumar Gadi; Sreedeep Sekharan; Vimal Katiyar

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158311

A systematic review on bioplastic-soil interaction: Exploring the effects of residual bioplastics on the soil geoenvironment

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Dec 10;851(Pt 2):158311. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158311. Epub 2022 Aug 28.

Authors

Charakho N Chah¹, Arnab Banerjee², Vinay Kumar Gadi³, Sreedeep Sekharan⁴, Vimal Katiyar⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, 781039, India; Centre for Sustainable Polymers, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, 781039, India.
² Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, 781039, India; Centre for Sustainable Polymers, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, 781039, India; Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India.
³ Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, 781039, India.
⁴ Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, 781039, India; Centre for Sustainable Polymers, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, 781039, India. Electronic address: srees@iitg.ernet.in.
⁵ Centre for Sustainable Polymers, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, 781039, India; Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India.

PMID: 36037904
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158311

Abstract

Growing demand for plastic and increasing plastic waste pollution have led to significant environmental challenges and concerns in today's world. Bioplastics offer exciting new opportunities and possibilities where biodegradable and bio-based plastics are expected to be more eco-friendly and rely on renewable resources. With all its promises, evaluating its real impact and fate on the geoenvironment is paramount for promoting bioplastic use. This paper presents a systematic literature review to understand current bioplastic-soil research and the effects of its residues on the geoenvironment. 632 studies related to bioplastic research in soil since 1973 were identified and categorized into different relevant topics. Publication trend showed bioplastic-soil research grew exponentially after 2010 wherein field studies accounted to 33.1 % of the total studies and only about 9.7 % studied the effects of bioplastic residues on the geoenvironment. Majority of the lab studies were on development and subsequent stability of bioplastics in soil. Short-term studies (in months) dominated the longer-term studies and studies over 4 years were almost non-existent. Lab and field experiments often gave inconsistent results with seasonal, climatic and bio-geographical factors strongly influencing the field results and bioplastic stability in soil. Most existing studies reported significant effects for microbioplastic concentrations at or above 1 % w/w. Bioplastic residues were found to substantially affect soil C/N ratio, impact soil microbial diversity by favouring certain microbial taxa and alter soil physical structure by influencing soil aggregates formation. At higher concentrations, plant health and germination success were also negatively affected. Conclusively, the review found it important to focus more on long-term field experiments to better understand the degree and extent of bioplastic residue impact on soil physico-chemical properties, mechanical properties, soil biology, soil-bioplastic-plant response, nutrients and toxicity. There are also very few studies investigating contaminant transport and migration of micro or nano-bioplastics in soil.

Keywords: Biodegradable plastics; Bioplastics; Ecological impact; Geoenvironment; Microplastics; Soil.

Publication types

Systematic Review
Review

MeSH terms

Environmental Pollution
Plastics* / chemistry
Plastics* / toxicity
Soil*

Substances

Soil
Plastics