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Long-Term Effects of Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics on Anaerobic Granular Sludge for Recovering Methane from Wastewater

Environmental Science & Technology 2020 138 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 55 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Jing Sun, Bing‐Jie Ni Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Jing Sun, Bing‐Jie Ni Yuting Zhang, Wei Wei, Qiuxiang Xu, Qiuxiang Xu, Yuting Zhang, Yuting Zhang, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Yuting Zhang, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Jing Sun, Wei Wei, Jing Sun, Jing Sun, Wei Wei, Jing Sun, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Wei Wei, Yuting Zhang, Yuting Zhang, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Wei Wei, Bing‐Jie Ni Wei Wei, Bing‐Jie Ni Wei Wei, Yuting Zhang, Yuting Zhang, Jing Sun, Jing Sun, Jing Sun, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Yuting Zhang, Yuting Zhang, Wei Wei, Qiuxiang Xu, Qiuxiang Xu, Wei Wei, Bing‐Jie Ni Wei Wei, Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Yuting Zhang, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Wei Wei, Jing Sun, Jing Sun, Qiuxiang Xu, Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Qiuxiang Xu, Bing‐Jie Ni Jing Sun, Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Qiuxiang Xu, Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Jing Sun, Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Wei Wei, Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Jing Sun, Bing‐Jie Ni Wei Wei, Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Bing‐Jie Ni Yuting Zhang, Wei Wei, Bing‐Jie Ni

Summary

Researchers studied the long-term effects of PVC microplastics on anaerobic granular sludge used in wastewater treatment over 264 days. They found that microplastic exposure significantly reduced organic matter removal efficiency by up to 35.5% and decreased methane production by up to 32.3%, while disrupting the protective biofilm around sludge granules. The study demonstrates that microplastic contamination in wastewater can impair the biological treatment processes that cities rely on for waste management and energy recovery.

Polymers

PVC

Study Type Environmental

Polyvinyl chloride microplastics (PVC-MPs) are emerging contaminants affecting biological wastewater treatment processes. However, most of the previous studies mainly focused on their short-term impacts on floc sludge, with little work being conducted to explore their potential effects on more complex anaerobic granular sludge (AGS), which has been widely used for high-strength organic wastewater treatment. In this paper, the long-term effects of PVC-MPs on AGS were investigated via continuous feeding tests that are representative of real wastewater treatment processes. The results of a continuous 264 days test showed that the prolonged exposure of PVC-MPs at 15-150 MPs·L-1 significantly (p = 7.86 × 10-37, 3.44 × 10-43, and 5.29 × 10-46) inhibited the COD removal efficiency of AGS by 13.2%-35.5%, accompanied by a 11.0%-32.3% decreased production of methane and 40.3%-272.7% increased accumulation of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). In addition, the PVC-MPs exposure suppressed the secretion of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), causing AGS and the inside microorganisms to lose the protection of EPS, thereby resulting in granule breakage and decreased cells viability. Aligning with the deteriorated performance, the long-term exposure of PVC-MPs reduced the total microbial populations and the relative abundances of key methanogens and acidogens. A toxicity mechanism assessment revealed that the negative impacts induced by PVC-MPs are mainly attributed to the toxic leachate and excess oxidative stress.

Read via DOI PubMed

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