Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Size-dependent effects of polystyrene microplastics on anaerobic digestion performance of food waste: Focusing on oxidative stress, microbial community, key metabolic functions

Researchers investigated how polystyrene microplastics of different sizes affect anaerobic digestion of food waste and found that smaller particles caused greater inhibition of methane production, with reductions up to 33%. The study suggests that small microplastics induce more oxidative stress in microbial communities and suppress key enzymes involved in methane-producing metabolic pathways.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Deciphering the role of polystyrene microplastics in waste activated sludge anaerobic digestion: Changes of organics transformation, microbial community and metabolic pathway

Researchers found that polystyrene microplastics in sewage sludge affected the anaerobic digestion process used to treat waste, with low concentrations slightly boosting methane production but high concentrations reducing it by up to 11%. The microplastics disrupted key bacterial communities and enzyme activities needed for proper waste breakdown. This matters because wastewater treatment plants handle enormous volumes of microplastic-laden sludge, and impaired digestion could reduce treatment effectiveness and release more pollutants into the environment.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation the impact of polystyrene micro and nanoplastics on the methane generation by anaerobic digestion

Researchers tested the effect of polystyrene microplastics and their leached chemical additives on anaerobic digestion systems, finding that microplastic presence reduced methane generation efficiency and disrupted microbial community function.

2020 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 102 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene nanoplastics shape microbiome and functional metabolism in anaerobic digestion

Researchers studied how polystyrene nanoplastics and microplastics affect the microbial communities and biochemical processes in anaerobic digestion systems used for waste treatment. They found that nanoplastics had a more disruptive effect than microplastics, significantly altering the composition and metabolic functions of the microbial community. The study suggests that plastic contamination in waste streams could reduce the efficiency of anaerobic digestion, a widely used waste processing technology.

2022 Water Research 88 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposure to polystyrene nanoplastic leads to inhibition of anaerobic digestion system

Researchers showed that polystyrene nanoplastics inhibit methane production in sewage sludge digesters in a concentration-dependent manner, reducing methane yield by up to 14% and delaying the process start-up while shifting microbial community composition away from key methane-producing archaea.

2017 The Science of The Total Environment 212 citations
Article Tier 2

Revealing the Mechanisms of Polyethylene Microplastics Affecting Anaerobic Digestion of Waste Activated Sludge

Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics affect the anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge, a common wastewater treatment process. They found that higher concentrations of microplastics significantly reduced methane production by disrupting microbial communities and enzyme activities essential for digestion. The study reveals that microplastic contamination in wastewater systems can undermine the efficiency of sludge treatment and biogas generation.

2019 Environmental Science & Technology 351 citations
Article Tier 2

Metagenomic analysis reveals the responses of microbial communities and nitrogen metabolic pathways to polystyrene micro(nano)plastics in activated sludge systems

Scientists used genetic analysis to study how polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics disrupt the bacteria that process nitrogen in wastewater treatment systems. At high concentrations, the plastics reduced nitrogen removal efficiency by up to 30% by generating harmful reactive oxygen species that damaged key microbial processes. This is concerning because less effective wastewater treatment means more pollutants, including microplastics themselves, could end up in waterways.

2023 Water Research 135 citations
Article Tier 2

Concentration-dependent effects of polystyrene microplastics on methanogenic activity and microbial community shifts in sewer sediment

This study tested how polystyrene microplastics affect methane-producing microbes in sewer sediments and found that low concentrations boosted methane production by over 200%, while higher concentrations had a smaller stimulating effect. The findings matter for wastewater management because microplastics entering sewer systems could alter greenhouse gas emissions and disrupt the microbial processes that treatment plants rely on.

2025 Bioresource Technology 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Insights on the inhibition of anaerobic digestion performances under short-term exposure of metal-doped nanoplastics via Methanosarcina acetivorans

The inhibitory effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on anaerobic digestion performance were investigated at the molecular level, focusing on methanogen-nanoplastic interactions in granular sludge. The study provided direct evidence that nanoplastics disrupt methane-producing archaea, identifying a mechanism by which nanoplastic contamination reduces biogas production from organic waste treatment.

2020 Environmental Pollution 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Thermally aged PET microplastics disrupt methanogenic syntrophy via toxic leachates: Microbial assembly dynamics unravel biotoxicity in anaerobic digestion

Researchers found that thermally aged PET microplastics disrupted methane production during anaerobic digestion more severely than pristine microplastics. The aging process increased reactive oxygen species levels and released toxic chemical compounds that interfered with the microbial communities responsible for biogas production, with longer aging periods causing greater inhibition of methane upgrading.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Unraveling synergistic cascade inhibition of methane production in anaerobic digestion system by polyethylene microplastics and domestic sewage: Physical adsorption, metabolic disruption, and microbial community decoupling

Researchers systematically explored how the co-presence of polyethylene microplastics and domestic sewage inhibits methane production in anaerobic digestion systems, finding that physical adsorption of microplastics, propionic acid accumulation, and microbial community decoupling identified via multi-omics analysis collectively suppressed cumulative CH4 production by 41.8% compared to controls.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Effects of Micro(nano)plastics on Anaerobic Digestion and Their Influencing Mechanisms

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics from organic waste streams affect anaerobic digestion (AD) performance, covering impacts on methane production, microbial community structure, and enzyme activity. It identifies plastic polymer type and concentration as key variables determining whether MPs stimulate or inhibit digestion processes.

2025 Microorganisms 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Thermal hydrolysis intensifies the targeted inhibition of polyethylene terephthalate microplastics on anaerobic methanogenesis in sludge: Path identification and quantitative mechanism research

Researchers found that thermal hydrolysis pretreatment intensifies the inhibitory effects of polyethylene terephthalate microplastics on anaerobic methanogenesis in sludge by altering transformation pathways, and quantified the relative contributions of these pathways using isotopic labeling and metabolic flux analysis.

2025 Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

[Effects of Typical Microplastics on Methanogenesis and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Anaerobic Digestion of Sludge].

Researchers explored the impacts of polyamide, polyethylene, and polypropylene microplastics on methanogenesis and antibiotic resistance gene dynamics during anaerobic digestion of waste sludge, examining how microplastic contamination affects both biogas production and resistance gene enrichment.

2025 PubMed
Article Tier 2

Systematic study of microplastics on methane production in anaerobic digestion: Performance and microbial response

Microplastics are increasingly found in wastewater treatment systems, and this study systematically examined how different types, concentrations, and sizes of microplastics affect the anaerobic digestion process used to break down sewage sludge and generate biogas. Polyethylene microplastics were found to inhibit methane production, with finer particles and higher concentrations causing greater disruption to the microbial communities driving digestion. The findings matter because microplastics in sewage sludge can impair the treatment process and also end up spread on agricultural land when sludge is used as fertilizer.

2025 Journal of environmental chemical engineering 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Resilience and functional redundancy of methanogenic digestion microbiome safeguard recovery of methanogenesis activity under the stress induced by microplastics

Researchers studied how microplastics and nanoplastics affect the microbiome responsible for methane production during anaerobic digestion of wastewater sludge. The study found that while plastic particles initially disrupted methanogenesis, the microbial community showed resilience and functional redundancy that allowed methane production to recover over time.

2023 mLife 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Unmasking microplastics in anaerobic digestion: Hidden threats, synergistic pollutants, and biodegradation Frontiers — A comprehensive hotspot review

Researchers reviewed how microplastics disrupt anaerobic digestion — the process used to convert organic waste into biogas — finding that microplastics suppress methane production, harm microbial communities, and carry along other pollutants like antibiotics and heavy metals into the system.

2025 Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and their mechanisms in influencing methane oxidation: A physiological and ecological perspective

This review examines the physiological and ecological mechanisms by which microplastics influence methane oxidation processes in the environment, synthesising current understanding of how ubiquitous plastic contamination may disrupt microbial communities responsible for mitigating methane — a greenhouse gas 20-30 times more potent than CO2.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Article Tier 2

An in-depth analysis of microbial response to exposure to high concentrations of microplastics in anaerobic wastewater fermentation

This study investigated how high concentrations of three common microplastic types affect the microbes used in anaerobic wastewater treatment, finding that microplastics reduced methane production by up to 56%. PVC had the most damaging effect on the microbial communities that break down waste, while polyethylene was somewhat less disruptive. The findings matter because impaired wastewater treatment means more pollutants, including microplastics themselves, could escape into waterways that feed human water supplies.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 18 citations
Review Tier 2

A review on mechanistic understanding of microplastic pollution on the performance of anaerobic digestion

This review examines how microplastic contamination affects anaerobic digestion, a process used to convert organic waste into biogas. Researchers found that microplastics can harm the microbial communities essential to this process through direct contact, leaching of toxic chemicals, and generating harmful reactive oxygen species. The findings raise concerns that microplastic pollution could reduce the efficiency of waste treatment systems and contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes.

2023 Environmental Pollution 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of microplastic on anaerobic digestion of wasted activated sludge

This study investigated how varying doses of microplastics affect methane production during anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge, testing concentrations from 0 to 100,000 particles per gram. Higher microplastic doses progressively inhibited methane production, suggesting that high microplastic loads in wastewater treatment sludge can impair biogas recovery.

2020 Chemosphere 147 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluating the Effects of Different Pretreatments on Anaerobic Digestion of Waste Activated Sludge Containing Polystyrene Microplastics

Researchers found that thermal and chemical pretreatments improved methane yields by 17-20% during anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge containing polystyrene microplastics, though chemical methods caused greater leaching of additives from the plastic particles.

2021 ACS ES&T Water 40 citations
Article Tier 2

New Horizons in Micro/Nanoplastic-Induced Oxidative Stress: Overlooked Free Radical Contributions and Microbial Metabolic Dysregulations in Anaerobic Digestion

Researchers found that polypropylene micro- and nanoplastics generate persistent free radicals that produce harmful reactive oxygen species, reducing the effectiveness of anaerobic digestion (a common waste treatment process) by up to 50%. This means microplastic contamination could undermine waste treatment systems, potentially allowing more pollutants to reach waterways and increase human exposure.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Uncovering the toxic effects and adaptive mechanisms of aminated polystyrene nanoplastics on microbes in sludge anaerobic digestion system: Insight from extracellular to intracellular

Researchers investigated how nanoplastics with amino functional groups affect the anaerobic digestion process used to treat sewage sludge. They found that these surface-modified nanoplastics reduced methane production and disrupted the microbial communities responsible for breaking down waste. The study reveals that chemically modified nanoplastics may be more disruptive to wastewater treatment processes than unmodified particles.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 23 citations