Host institution:
Postgraduate:
Supervisors:
Prof. Dr. Violette Geissen
Dr. Michael Sander
ESR08
Remediation of soils polluted with MiP – microbial degradation of plastic debris
Objectives:
The aim of this project is to study the degradation potential of different mixtures of bacteria/fungi to degrade polyethylene MiP pollution agricultural soils. Specific objectives: (1) Identification of the most adequate bacteria/fungi mixtures and the surrounding conditions for PE decay in the different types of soils available the test sites of the project. (2) Assess the interaction of the introduced bacteria/fungi mixture with the native soil microbiome. (3) Identification of the volatiles (alkenes, alkanes) and CO2 emissions produced during the degradation process and collect them for further use. (4) Upscaling of the setup to mesocosm size.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 955334.