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The effect and mechanism of microplastics to the N2O emission in underground and aboveground wastewater treatment plants
Summary
This study compared microplastic levels and their effects on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions — a potent greenhouse gas — in underground and aboveground wastewater treatment plants in China. Underground plants had higher incoming microplastic concentrations but achieved slightly better removal rates, and microplastics were found to influence the microbial communities responsible for nitrogen processing in ways that affected N2O production. The results suggest that microplastic contamination in wastewater treatment systems has consequences not only for water quality but potentially for greenhouse gas emissions from these facilities.
This study investigated the effect and microbial mechanism of microplastics to the NO emission in underground and aboveground wastewater treatment plants. The microplastics in the influent of Uwwtp and Awwtp were 4953 ± 558 and 2253 ± 563 particles/L. The microplastics rejection rate were 86.36 ± 0.02% (Awwtp) and 90.56 ± 0.02% (Uwwtp), respectively. The NO concentration were 106.40 ± 134.17 nmol/L in Uwwtp and 53.58 ± 32.68 nmol/L in Awwtp. The NO/NO ratio was 0.55% in the aerobic tank of Uwwtp. The NO/NH ratio was 0.39% in aerobic tank and 0.52% in secondary sedimentation tank of Awwtp. The microplastics were significantly correlated with NH (p < 0.05) in Awwtp and significantly correlated with NH (p < 0.01) and NO, NO (p < 0.01) in Uwwtps. Mental test results indicated that microplastics significantly correlated with the nitrifier and denitrifier in the systems. This suggest that microplastics could affect the nitrification and denitrification process in the two plants and thus affect the NO emission. Microplastics in wwtps, i.e., the plastisphere, may be a novel microbial colonization site that could be vital to NO emissions.
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