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Effects of microplastics accumulation and antibiotics contamination in anaerobic membrane bioreactors for municipal wastewater treatment
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This study found that when aged PVC microplastics and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin are both present in wastewater treatment systems, they interact to make each other's harmful effects worse. The combination cut treatment efficiency in half and disrupted the microbes needed for wastewater processing, raising concerns about how microplastic pollution could undermine water treatment that protects public health.
Municipal wastewater treatment plants are the main collection points for plastics and antibiotics. Anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) is one the most potential municipal wastewater treatment technologies. This study evaluated the impact of microplastic (aged polyvinyl chloride, aged PVC, 1.5 g/L), antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, CIP, 100 μg/L) and their interaction effect on AnMBR treatment performance and membrane fouling. Results showed that the inhibition of CIP on AnMBR organic removal and methane production was intensified, owing to the CIP adsorption on aged PVC. The enzyme activities of electron transport (ETS), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and F420 were also significantly restrained by 47-52 % with combined exposure. The combined effects also significantly aggravated the membrane fouling of AnMBR, which shorted the membrane operational period by half due to more soluble microbial products (SMP) secretion. The microbial diversity analyses indicated that aged PVC and CIP addition can accumulate some main anaerobic fermentation bacteria but inhibit the archaea. The abundance of related enzyme in the acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis decreased with the sole aged PVC and CIP addition and severely inhibited with their combine effect. The absolute abundance mcrA significantly reduced by 92 % with combined exposure, validating the negative impact on methanogenic activity. These findings provide valuable insight into the AnMBR implementation in complex wastewater treatment.
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Researchers examined how PVC microplastics affect wastewater treatment systems that also contain copper oxide nanoparticles and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. They found that low concentrations of microplastics actually reduced some toxic effects of the other pollutants, but higher concentrations worsened nitrogen removal efficiency and increased antibiotic resistance genes. The study highlights the complex ways microplastics can alter the behavior of other contaminants in water treatment.
Evaluation of microplastic polyvinylchloride and antibiotics tetracycline co-effect on the partial nitrification process
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This study investigated the combined effects of PVC microplastics and the antibiotic tetracycline on nitrification — the biological process by which wastewater treatment plants remove ammonia from sewage. Both pollutants reduced nitrification efficiency, and their combined presence caused greater disruption than either alone, complicating the treatment of wastewater that contains multiple contaminants.
Unexpected mitigation of microplastic-induced nitrification inhibition by sulfamethoxazole: The pivotal roles of polymer aging and microbial metabolic shifts
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Scientists found that plastic pollution and a common antibiotic interact in surprising ways inside wastewater treatment plants, sometimes making pollution's harmful effects worse, sometimes better, depending on the plastic type and how weathered it is. This matters because wastewater treatment protects our water supplies, and understanding these hidden chemical interactions helps engineers keep treatment systems working properly as plastic and drug pollution keeps rising.
Aged microplastics enhance their interaction with ciprofloxacin and joint toxicity on Escherichia coli
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Researchers found that aged microplastics showed enhanced adsorption of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin compared to pristine particles, and that their combined exposure produced greater toxicity to E. coli at the molecular level than either pollutant alone.
Response of wastewater treatment performance and bacterial community to original and aged polyvinyl chloride microplastics in sequencing batch reactors
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This study found that PVC microplastics, both fresh and aged, severely harmed wastewater treatment processes by reducing the removal of harmful chemicals like ammonia and organic pollutants. The microplastics shifted the bacterial communities in the treatment system, reducing helpful nitrogen-removing bacteria while promoting other types. This means microplastic contamination of wastewater plants could lead to poorer water treatment quality, allowing more pollutants to reach rivers and drinking water sources.
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