Approaches in Sustainable, Biobased Multilayer Packaging Solutions.

The depletion of fossil resources and the growing demand for plastic waste reduction has put industries and academic researchers under pressure to develop increasingly sustainable packaging solutions that are both functional and circularly designed. In this review, we provide an overview of the fundamentals and recent advances in biobased packaging materials, including new materials and techniques for their modification as well as their end-of-life scenarios. We also discuss the composition and modification of biobased films and multilayer structures, with particular attention to readily available drop-in solutions, as well as coating techniques. Moreover, we discuss end-of-life factors, including sorting systems, detection methods, composting options, and recycling and upcycling possibilities. Finally, regulatory aspects are pointed out for each application scenario and end-of-life option. Moreover, we discuss the human factor in terms of consumer perception and acceptance of upcycling.

Triggering of Polymer-Degrading Enzymes from Layered Double Hydroxides for Recycling Strategies.

The use of degrading enzymes in polymer formulation is a very attractive strategy to manage the end-of-life of plastics. However, high temperatures cause the denaturation of enzymes and the loss of their catalytic activity; therefore, protection strategies are necessary. Once protected, the enzyme needs to be released in appropriate media to exert its catalytic activity. A successful protection strategy involves the use of layered double hydroxides: cutinase, selected as a highly degrading polyester hydrolytic enzyme, is thermally protected by immobilization in Mg/Al layered double hydroxide structures. Different triggering media are here evaluated in order to find the best releasing conditions of cutinase from LDH. In detail, phosphate and citrate-phosphate buffers, potassium carbonate, sodium chloride, and sodium sulfate solutions are studied. After the comparison of all media in terms of protein release and activity retained, phosphate buffer is selected as the best candidate for the release of cutinase from LDH, and the effect of pH and concentration is also evaluated. The amount of the enzyme released is determined with the Lowry method. Activity tests are performed via spectrophotometry.

Bacterial colonization dynamics of different microplastic types in an anoxic salt marsh sediment and impact of adsorbed polychlorinated biphenyls on the plastisphere.

Plastic debris dispersed into the environment provide a substrate for microbial colonization, constituting a new human-made ecosystem called "plastisphere", and altering the microbial species distribution in aquatic, coastal and benthic ecosystems. The study aims at exploring the interaction among microplastics (MPs) made of different polymers, a persistent organic contaminant (polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs), and the environmental microbial communities, in an anoxic marine sediment. Plastic pellets were incubated in the field in a salt marsh anoxic sediment, to observe the stages of plastisphere formation, by quantitative PCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and PCB dechlorination activity on the MPs surface. Microbes from the sediment rapidly colonized the different microplastics types, with PVC recruiting a peculiar community enriched in sulfate-reducing bacteria. The composition of the plastisphere varied along the 1-year incubation possibly in response either to warmer temperatures in spring-summer or to microhabitat's changes due to the progressive plastic surface weathering. Even if PCB contaminated MPs were able to recruit potentially dehalogenating taxa, actual dechlorination was not detectable after 1 year. This suggests that the concentration of potentially dehalorespiring bacteria in the natural environment could be too low for the onset of the dechlorination process on MP-sorbed contaminants. Our study, which is among very few available longitudinally exploring the plastisphere composition in an anoxic sediment context, is the first exploring the fate and possible biodegradation of persistent organic pollutants sorbed on MPs reaching the seafloor.

Enzymatic Degradation of the Most Common Aliphatic Bio-Polyesters and Evaluation of the Mechanisms Involved: An Extended Study.

Commercial hydrolytic enzymes belonging to different subclasses (several lipases, proteinase k, cutinase) were investigated for their ability to degrade different aliphatic polyesters, i.e., poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA), two poly(caprolactone), having two different molecular weights, poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC). The enzyme screening was first carried out by investigating the capacity of fully degrading the target polymers in 24 h, then weight loss measurements of selected polyesters and target enzymes were performed. Solid residues after enzyme degradation were characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TGA). Liquid fractions were studied via GPC, 1H NMR and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). PCL and PBSA were found to be the most biodegradable polyesters, under the conditions used in this study. PBS was fully degraded only by cutinase, whereas none of the tested enzymes were able to completely degrade PLA and PPC, in the conditions assessed here. Cutinase exhibited the highest hydrolytic activity on PBSA, while lipase from Candida sp. (CALB) on low molecular weight PCL. Chemical analyses on residual solids showed that the enzymatic degradation occurred homogeneously from the surface through an erosion mechanism and did not significantly affect the macromolecular structure and thermal stability. Cleaving action mode for each enzyme (endo- and/or exo-type) on the different polyesters were also proposed based on the evaluation of the degradation products in the liquid fraction.

Microbial colonization of different microplastic types and biotransformation of sorbed PCBs by a marine anaerobic bacterial community.

We investigated the colonization dynamics of different microplastic (MP) pellets, namely, polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), either pristine or contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), by an organohalide respiring marine microbial community and its biotransformation activity towards PCBs sorbed on MPs, in anaerobic laboratory microcosms of a marine sediment. All MPs were rapidly colonized by the microbial community within 2 weeks of incubation, when approximately 1010 16S rRNA gene copies cm-2 were detected on PVC, 109 copies cm-2 on PE, and 108 copies cm-2 on PET, PP and PS. A greater biofilm growth on PVC pellets than other MPs was confirmed by quantification of the reducing sugars of the EPS and biofilm staining with crystal violet. Illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes and Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) revealed that the biofilm community on MPs significantly differed from the sediment community, being enriched of chemoorganotrophic fermenting species, and was significantly affected by the type of polymer. The presence of sorbed PCBs did not significantly affect the overall community composition, and mainly resulted in the enrichment of Dehalococcoidia, i.e., of the organohalide respiring members of the community. Reductive dechlorination of PCBs sorbed to MPs was observed after 2 weeks of incubation, when the average number of chlorines per biphenyl molecule was reduced from 5.2 to 4.8-4.3, and was faster (35.2 ± 1.9 to 61.2 ± 5.8 µmol of Cl removed kgMP-1 week-1) than that of sediment-sorbed ones (33.9 ± 9.1 µmol of Cl removed kgsediment-1 week-1), which started only after 10 weeks of incubation. These data suggest that microbial colonization of contaminated MPs might change the composition of sorbed PCB mixtures and therefore the toxicity associated to PCB-polluted MPs.

Improving prospective memory performance with future event simulation in traumatic brain injury patients.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have shown that traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients have difficulties with prospective memory (PM). Considering that PM is closely linked to independent living it is of primary interest to develop strategies that can improve PM performance in TBI patients. METHOD: This study employed Virtual Week task as a measure of PM, and we included future event simulation to boost PM performance. Study 1 evaluated the efficacy of the strategy and investigated possible practice effects. Twenty-four healthy participants performed Virtual Week in a no strategy condition, and 24 healthy participants performed it in a mixed condition (no strategy - future event simulation). In Study 2, 18 TBI patients completed the mixed condition of Virtual Week and were compared with the 24 healthy controls who undertook the mixed condition of Virtual Week in Study 1. All participants also completed a neuropsychological evaluation to characterize the groups on level of cognitive functioning. RESULTS: Study 1 showed that participants in the future event simulation condition outperformed participants in the no strategy condition, and these results were not attributable to practice effects. Results of Study 2 showed that TBI patients performed PM tasks less accurately than controls, but that future event simulation can substantially reduce TBI-related deficits in PM performance. The future event simulation strategy also improved the controls' PM performance. CONCLUSIONS: These studies showed the value of future event simulation strategy in improving PM performance in healthy participants as well as in TBI patients. PRACTITIONER POINTS: TBI patients performed PM tasks less accurately than controls, confirming prospective memory impairment in these patients. Participants in the future event simulation condition out-performed participants in the no strategy condition. Future event simulation can substantially reduce TBI-related deficits in PM performance. Future event simulation strategy also improved the controls' PM performance.

Development of an attached-growth process for the on-site bioremediation of an aquifer polluted by chlorinated solvents.

A procedure for the design of an aerobic cometabolic process for the on-site degradation of chlorinated solvents in a packed bed reactor was developed using groundwater from an aquifer contaminated by trichloroethylene (TCE) and 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (TeCA). The work led to the selection of butane among five tested growth substrates, and to the development and characterization from the site's indigenous biomass of a suspended-cell consortium capable to degrade TCE (first order constant: 96 L gprotein(-1) day(-1) at 30 °C and 4.3 L gprotein(-1) day(-1) at 15 °C) with a 90 % mineralization of the organic chlorine. The consortium immobilization had strong effects on the butane and TCE degradation rates. The microbial community structure was slightly changed by a temperature shift from 30 to 15 °C, but remarkably affected by biomass adhesion. Given the higher TCE normalized degradation rate (0.59 day(-1) at 15 °C) and attached biomass concentration (0.13 gprotein Lbioreactor(-1) at 15 °C) attained, the porous ceramic carrier Biomax was selected as the best option for the packed bed reactor process. The low TeCA degradation rate exhibited by the developed consortium suggested the inclusion of a chemical pre-treatment based on the TeCA to TCE conversion via ß-elimination, a very fast reaction at alkaline pH. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this represents the first attempt to develop a procedure for the development of a packed bed reactor process for the aerobic cometabolism of chlorinated solvents.

Trichloroethylene aerobic cometabolism by suspended and immobilized butane-growing microbial consortia: a kinetic study.

A kinetic study of butane uptake and trichloroethylene (TCE) aerobic cometabolism was conducted by two suspended-cell (15 and 30°C) and two attached-cell (15 and 30°C) consortia obtained from the indigenous biomass of a TCE-contaminated aquifer. The shift from suspended to attached cells resulted in an increase of butane (15 and 30°C) and TCE (15°C) biodegradation rates, and a significant decrease of butane inhibition on TCE biodegradation. The TCE 15°C maximum specific biodegradation rate was equal to 0.011 mg(TCE ) mg(protein)(-1) d(-1) with suspended cells and 0.021 mg(TCE) mg(protein)(-1) d(-1) with attached cells. The type of mutual butane/TCE inhibition depended on temperature and biomass conditions. On the basis of a continuous-flow simulation, a packed-bed PFR inoculated with the 15 or 30°C attached-cell consortium could attain a 99.96% conversion of the studied site's average TCE concentration with a 0.4-0.5-day hydraulic residence time, with a low effect of temperature on the TCE degradation performances.