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Research advances of biodegradable microplastics in wastewater treatment plant: Current knowledge and future directions
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This review examines how biodegradable plastics break down into microplastics during wastewater treatment and their effects on the treatment process. Biodegradable microplastics can alter microbial communities in treatment systems and carry pollutants on their surfaces due to abundant oxygen-containing chemical groups. The findings challenge the notion that biodegradable plastics are a complete solution to plastic pollution, since they still generate microplastics that could affect water quality and human health.
Plastic and microplastic pollution in the environment has become a significant global concern. Biodegradable plastics (BPs), as environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional plastics, have also emerged as a crucial topic of global discussion. The successful application of BPs appears to offer a solution to the potential ecological risks posed by conventional plastics. However, BPs have negative impacts on the ecological environment and human health. BPs can gradually degrade into biodegradable microplastics (BMPs) in the environment. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have become an undeniable source and sink of microplastics. With the production and application of BPs, BMPs will inevitably enter WWTPs. This paper reviews the pollution status, degradation behavior of BMPs, and their potential impact on wastewater treatment performance. The focus is on the environmental behavior of BMPs in wastewater treatment systems. The influences of BMPs on microbial communities, sludge treatment, and disposal are thoroughly discussed. The results indicate that BMPs are more easily decomposed into micro/nanoplastics and release additives compared to conventional microplastics. The effects of BMPs on microbial communities and wastewater treatment depend on their characteristics. The numerous oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of BMPs enable them to serve a dual purpose as transport media and potential sources of environmental pollutants. Finally, in light of existing knowledge gaps, suggestions and prospects for future research on BMPs are proposed.
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Biodegradable plastics — marketed as a greener alternative to conventional plastics — can still fragment into microplastics inside wastewater treatment plants, where they undergo mechanical wear, additive leaching, and microbial degradation, with incompletely understood effects on the microbial communities that make treatment work. This review synthesises current knowledge on how biodegradable microplastics behave in wastewater and sludge systems, and argues that their risks in treatment infrastructure are underappreciated and require urgent dedicated research.
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This review assessed strategies for incorporating bioremediation into wastewater treatment plants specifically targeting microplastic removal, including bioaugmentation with microplastic-degrading microorganisms. The authors identified potential in using biofilm reactors and enhanced biological treatment but noted that microbial degradation of common polymers in wastewater timeframes remains limited.
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This review examines how microplastics harm the biological treatment processes in sewage treatment plants by disrupting the microbial communities that break down waste. Microplastics alter the structure of these essential microbial communities, reduce their activity, and release toxic additives that cause oxidative stress and enzyme damage. Since treatment plants are a key barrier between pollutants and waterways, understanding how microplastics compromise their effectiveness is important for protecting downstream drinking water sources.
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"Biodegradable" plastics are often assumed to be the eco-friendly choice, but this study found that biodegradable microplastics (PLA) actually disrupted wastewater treatment more than conventional plastics like polystyrene or polyethylene, reducing bacteria's ability to break down waste and potentially allowing harmful microbes to thrive. This matters because wastewater treatment plants help keep our water supply clean, so if biodegradable plastics interfere with that process, it could undermine efforts to protect water quality even as we try to reduce plastic pollution.
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