Characterization of HDPE microparticles in sludge aerobic digestion and their influence on the process

The occurrence of microplastics (MPs) in wastewater has been studied in the last years. The high efficiency of their removal from wastewater is linked to their transfer to the sludge. In this work, the effect of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) on aerobic digestion was evaluated and these MPs were monitored, characterizing them by three different techniques. Two parallel batch digesters were monitored. AD-Control (meaning Aerobic Digester) operated as a reference, with no external HDPE particles, whereas these polymeric fragments were introduced to the second aerobic digester (AD-HDPE) using ring pulls as microplastic support. FTIR, Raman spectroscopies and fluorescence analysis of these microparticles showed some relevant results that should be highlighted. Higher fluorescence appeared after 7 days in the digester. It coincided with an increase of active volatile suspended solids (AVSS) in the AD-HDPE, which means that an increase of the microbial activity took place. Despite the presence of HDPE particles in the sludge, the digester performance was not compromised. Besides, the HDPE particles did not affect the microbial diversity (Shannon index) of the bacterial community at the end of the experiment compared to the bacterial community of the aerobic digester control tank. Based on the analysis of the relative abundances of microbial taxa, it was concluded that HDPE had selective effects on sludge microbial community, increasing the relative abundance of Bacteroridota phylum.