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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to The impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on biological nitrogen removal processes: Exacerbating the greenhouse effect
ClearA review of microplastics stress on nitrogen conversion and nitrous oxide emissions from biological wastewater treatment: Efficiency, mechanism and prospects
This review analyzes how microplastics affect nitrogen conversion processes and nitrous oxide emissions during biological wastewater treatment. Researchers found that microplastics can disrupt key nitrogen-cycling steps including nitrification and denitrification, potentially increasing emissions of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. The study highlights the dual environmental concern of microplastics interfering with both water treatment efficiency and climate-relevant gas emissions.
Insights into N2O turnovers under polyethylene terephthalate microplastics stress in mainstream biological nitrogen removal process
Long-term exposure of biological nitrogen removal (BNR) wastewater systems to polyethylene terephthalate microplastics at concentrations up to 500 micrograms per liter altered nitrous oxide (N2O) production and reduction during denitrification over 100-plus days of treatment. The findings suggest MPs in municipal wastewater could inadvertently increase greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment plants.
Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics Facilitate Nitrous Oxide Production in Partial Nitritation Systems
Researchers found that PVC microplastics in wastewater treatment systems can increase the production of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. Higher concentrations of these plastic particles disrupted normal nitrogen-processing activity, while lower doses had minimal effect on overall system performance.
System-dependent effects and mechanisms of microplastics/nanoplastics on nitrogen and phosphorus removal from wastewater treatment and N2O emission
Researchers reviewed the system-dependent effects of microplastics and nanoplastics on nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiency across various wastewater treatment systems, including activated sludge, constructed wetlands, and membrane bioreactors. The study found that these plastic particles also impact nitrous oxide emissions, with effects varying significantly depending on the treatment technology used.
Exploring the potential impacts of microplastics on greenhouse gas emissions in wastewater treatment
This review analyzed how microplastics in wastewater treatment plants affect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, focusing on mechanisms by which microplastics alter microbial communities and their metabolic processes. The plastisphere was identified as a key site for altered methane and nitrous oxide production, with implications for climate reporting from the water sector.
Microplastics and Climate Change: Unveiling Ecological Impacts and Addressing Research Gaps
This review synthesizes studies from 2022 to 2024 on how microplastics contribute to greenhouse gas emissions — including CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide — through mechanisms such as nutrient adsorption and microbial colonization, identifying nitrous oxide interactions as a critical and underexplored research gap.
Smaller sizes of polyethylene terephthalate microplastics mainly stimulate heterotrophic N2O production in aerobic granular sludge systems
Researchers found that smaller PET microplastics (0.1 mm) more significantly stimulated nitrous oxide production in aerobic granular sludge wastewater treatment systems compared to larger particles. The smaller particles inhibited denitrifying metabolism and reduced the activity of enzymes responsible for consuming nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in wastewater treatment plants could undermine efforts toward carbon neutrality by increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
The effect and mechanism of microplastics to the N2O emission in underground and aboveground wastewater treatment plants
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.
Microplastics and Climate Change: Unveiling Ecological Impacts and Addressing Research Gaps
This review synthesizes research from 2019 to 2024 on the mechanisms by which microplastics influence greenhouse gas emissions — including CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide — in terrestrial and aquatic environments, examining roles such as nutrient adsorption and microbial substrate provision. The authors highlight the particularly underexplored contribution of nitrous oxide, which has a global warming potential approximately 300 times that of CO2, and call for standardized methodologies and long-term field studies to assess cumulative climate impacts.
Heightened threat of aged microplastics in constructed wetlands: impacts on nitrogen cycles and greenhouse gas emissions
Researchers studied the effects of aged fibrous microplastics on nitrogen cycling and greenhouse gas emissions in constructed wetlands and found that high concentrations of aged MPs reduced nitrogen removal efficiency and increased N₂O emissions compared to pristine MPs. The results suggest aging intensifies the environmental disruption caused by microplastics in treatment wetlands.
A review of microplastics on anammox: Influences and mechanisms
This review summarizes how microplastics affect anammox, a key biological process used in wastewater treatment to remove nitrogen. Microplastics disrupt the microbial communities that perform this process, reducing treatment efficiency depending on plastic concentration, size, and type. Since wastewater treatment is a critical barrier preventing pollutants from reaching drinking water sources, any reduction in treatment performance could increase human exposure to contaminants.
Insight into effect of polyethylene microplastic on nitrogen removal in moving bed biofilm reactor: Focusing on microbial community and species interactions
Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics affect nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment bioreactors and found that low concentrations slightly improved the process, while higher concentrations disrupted it. The microplastics changed the microbial communities responsible for breaking down nitrogen in wastewater. This matters because less effective wastewater treatment means more nitrogen pollution in waterways, and microplastics entering treatment plants could reduce their ability to clean water effectively.
Microplastics perturb nitrogen removal, microbial community and metabolism mechanism in biofilm system
Researchers found that polystyrene and PET microplastics reduced total nitrogen removal by 7-16% in biofilm wastewater treatment systems by causing cell damage, altering microbial community structure, and suppressing key genes involved in denitrification and nitrogen conversion.
Responses of nitrogen removal under microplastics versus nanoplastics stress in SBR: Toxicity, microbial community and functional genes
Researchers compared the effects of microplastics versus nanoplastics on nitrogen removal in sequencing batch reactors used in wastewater treatment. The study found that microplastics had no significant effect on nitrogen removal, while high concentrations of nanoplastics impaired the process by disrupting microbial communities and functional gene expression. The results suggest that nanoplastics may pose a greater threat to biological wastewater treatment performance than microplastics.
Impact and microbial mechanism of continuous nanoplastics exposure on the urban wastewater treatment process
Researchers investigated the effects of continuous nanoplastic exposure on wastewater treatment over 200 days, finding that while total nitrogen removal was not significantly inhibited, nanoplastics altered microbial community composition and affected nitrification and denitrification processes.
Effect of Polypropylene Microplastics Concentration on Wastewater Denitrification
Researchers investigated the effect of polypropylene microplastic concentration on wastewater denitrification, finding that PP microplastics impaired the NO2-N reduction step and increased greenhouse gas N2O production in a concentration-dependent manner, with significant NO2-N accumulation observed at 60 mg/L, while NO3-N removal remained largely unaffected.
Effect evaluation of microplastics on activated sludge nitrification and denitrification
Researchers found that microplastics entering wastewater treatment plants interfere with the nitrification and denitrification processes carried out by activated sludge microbes, potentially reducing the effectiveness of nutrient removal in sewage treatment. This effect could undermine water quality if microplastic loads in wastewater continue to increase.
A review on the fate of micro and nano plastics (MNPs) and their implication in regulating nutrient cycling in constructed wetland systems
This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics interact with the biological, chemical, and physical processes in constructed wetlands, which are nature-based systems used to treat wastewater. Researchers found that these tiny plastics can interfere with nitrogen and phosphorus removal by affecting the microbial communities, plant health, and substrate chemistry within the wetlands. The study highlights that as microplastic levels increase in wastewater, their presence could reduce the overall treatment effectiveness of these green infrastructure systems.
Fate and effects of microplastics in wastewater treatment processes
This review of microplastic fate in wastewater treatment plants found that secondary treatment removes ~98% of MPs from effluent, while MPs that remain can interfere with nitrogen conversion, increase chemical dosing requirements, and cause membrane fouling in advanced treatment systems.
Biodegradable Microplastics Increase N2O Emission from Denitrifying Sludge More Than Conventional Microplastics
Researchers compared how biodegradable and conventional microplastics affect nitrous oxide emissions during wastewater denitrification. They found that biodegradable microplastics actually increased nitrous oxide production more than conventional plastics by serving as an additional carbon source that disrupted the normal denitrification process. The study challenges the assumption that biodegradable plastics are always environmentally preferable, at least in wastewater treatment settings.
Mechanistic insights into the impact of multi-dimensional microplastic stress on nitrogen removal by heterotrophic nitrifying-aerobic denitrifying bacteria: A meta-transcriptomic analysis
Researchers studied how different types of microplastics affect bacteria that are used to remove nitrogen from wastewater. They found that PVC microplastics were particularly disruptive, interfering with enzyme function and gene expression needed for denitrification. The study provides molecular-level insights into how microplastic pollution could undermine biological wastewater treatment systems.
[Advances in the Effects of Microplastics on Soil N2O Emissions and Nitrogen Transformation].
This review synthesizes current research on how microplastics affect soil nitrogen cycling, including N2O emissions, nitrogen transformation processes, functional enzyme activity, and nitrogen-related genes, highlighting inconsistent findings due to variability in microplastic properties, experimental conditions, and spatial-temporal scales.
Microplastic diversity stimulates N2O emission during NO3−-N transformation by altering microbial interaction and electron consumption in eutrophic water
Researchers examined how mixtures of different microplastic types in eutrophic water bodies affect nitrous oxide emissions during nitrogen transformation. They found that greater microplastic diversity significantly increased N2O emissions by altering microbial community interactions and electron transfer processes. The study suggests that the combined presence of multiple microplastic types may amplify their environmental impact on greenhouse gas emissions from water systems.
Microplastics shaped performance, microbial ecology and community assembly in simultaneous nitrification, denitrification and phosphorus removal process
This study found that polystyrene and PVC microplastics disrupted the performance of wastewater treatment systems designed to remove nitrogen and phosphorus, reducing nitrogen removal by up to 10%. The microplastics altered microbial communities, decreased cooperation between beneficial bacteria, and blocked important biological pathways. Since wastewater treatment is a key barrier against pollution reaching drinking water, microplastic interference with these systems could indirectly increase human exposure to harmful contaminants.