Papers

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Article Tier 2

Sulfide modifies physicochemical properties and mercury adsorption of microplastics

Researchers found that sulfide exposure modifies the surface chemistry and physicochemical properties of microplastics, significantly altering their capacity to adsorb mercury in sulfur-rich anaerobic environments like sewage and wastewater treatment plants.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Aging of polylactic acid microplastics during hydrothermal treatment of sewage sludge and its effects on heavy metals adsorption

Researchers examined how hydrothermal treatment of sewage sludge causes polylactic acid microplastics to age, and how this aging changes their heavy metal adsorption capacity. Hydrothermal treatment accelerated PLA-MP degradation, increasing surface oxygen groups and enhancing adsorption of copper, cadmium, and lead compared to untreated particles.

2022 Environmental Research 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Sulfide induces physical damages and chemical transformation of microplastics via radical oxidation and sulfide addition

This study found that hydrogen sulfide causes physical fragmentation and chemical transformation of microplastics via radical oxidation and sulfide addition reactions, with implications for how microplastics are altered in anaerobic environments like wastewater treatment systems.

2021 Water Research 76 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

Bio-Aging of polyethylene during anaerobic and aerobic digestion

Researchers investigated how HDPE and LDPE microplastics affect aerobic and anaerobic digestion in wastewater treatment, while also characterizing whether the plastics themselves degrade. HDPE reduced methane production in anaerobic digestion by 26% but LDPE had no negative impact on either process, and only additive-free LDPE showed signs of bio-aging.

2025 Bioresource Technology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposure of polyethylene microplastics affects sulfur migration and transformation in anaerobic system

This study found that polyethylene microplastics in anaerobic wastewater treatment systems increased the production of hydrogen sulfide, a corrosive and toxic gas, by 15-27%. The microplastics promoted the activity of sulfur-processing bacteria and altered the sulfur cycle within the treatment system. This is relevant because it shows microplastics can disrupt the wastewater treatment processes that protect water quality for downstream communities.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 12 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

Aging mechanism of microplastics with UV irradiation and its effects on the adsorption of heavy metals

Researchers aged polystyrene microplastics using UV irradiation under three conditions (air, pure water, seawater) and found that aging changed surface chemistry and increased the microplastics' capacity to adsorb heavy metals, with seawater aging producing the most pronounced surface oxidation.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 852 citations
Article Tier 2

Differential effects of sulfide-induced transformation of biodegradable and conventional microplastics on sedimentary CO2 and CH4 emissions: Underlying microbiome-mediated mechanisms

Microplastics buried in sediments don't just sit inert — they interact with soil microbes in ways that affect how much methane and CO2 the sediment releases into the atmosphere. This incubation study found that fresh biodegradable plastic (PLA) dramatically increased greenhouse gas emissions, but once the plastic had aged through a chemical process called sulfidation, it actually suppressed them — while conventionally aged polyethylene had the opposite effect, boosting methane by stimulating methane-producing microbes. The findings complicate the assumption that biodegradable plastics are automatically better for the environment, and suggest that how plastics age underground matters as much as what they are made of.

2026 Environmental Research
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
Article Tier 2

Sulfide- and UV-induced aging differentially affect contaminant-binding properties of microplastics derived from commercial plastic products

Researchers found that sulfide- and UV-induced aging of microplastics differentially alter their ability to bind environmental contaminants, with sulfide treatment particularly enhancing chromium adsorption through thiol group formation and both processes increasing PET adsorption capacity through particle flattening.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of microplastics on sulfate reduction in landfill leachate-saturated zone

Researchers investigated how different types of microplastics affect sulfate reduction in landfill leachate-saturated zones at varying temperatures. They found that polylactic acid microplastics dramatically increased hydrogen sulfide release compared to polystyrene, polyethylene, and PVC, with cumulative release at 55 degrees Celsius being 33 times higher than at 25 degrees. The study suggests that biodegradable plastics in landfills may paradoxically worsen certain pollution processes by enriching sulfate-reducing microbial communities.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigating the impact of microplastics on sulfur mineralization in different soil types: A mechanism study

This study used soil microcosm experiments to investigate how polystyrene and polyphenylene sulfide microplastics affect sulfur mineralization in different soil types, revealing mechanisms by which MPs alter soil physicochemical properties and microbial activity.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 21 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

Beyond simple inhibition: Unveiling the non-monotonic impact and multi-level mechanisms of aged microplastics on sludge anaerobic digestion

Researchers used plasma treatment to precisely control polypropylene microplastic aging and tested its effects on anaerobic sludge digestion, finding that while unaged microplastics strongly inhibited methane production, optimally aged microplastics at a carbonyl index of 0.219 recovered methane yield to 83%.

2025 Water Research 2 citations
Article Tier 2

[Effects of Aging on the Cd Adsorption by Microplastics and the Relevant Mechanisms].

This study examined how aging affects the ability of microplastics — including polyethylene and polystyrene — to adsorb the heavy metal cadmium. Weathered microplastics showed different adsorption behavior than virgin particles, which has implications for how microplastics transport toxic metals through aquatic environments.

2022 PubMed 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Study on the Adsorption Behavior and Mechanism of Heavy Metals in Aquatic Environment before and after the Aging of Typical Microplastics

Researchers investigated the adsorption behavior and mechanisms of heavy metals by typical microplastics before and after environmental aging, finding that aging significantly alters microplastics' surface properties and capacity to bind metals such as cadmium and lead in aquatic systems.

2024
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

Chemical and photo-initiated aging enhances transport risk of microplastics in saturated soils: Key factors, mechanisms, and modeling

Researchers aged polystyrene microplastics using three oxidation methods and then studied their transport through saturated soil columns, finding that aging significantly increased surface hydrophilicity and mobility, with UV-activated persulfate oxidation producing the most mobile particles.

2021 Water Research 144 citations
Article Tier 2

Aging properties of polyethylene and polylactic acid microplastics and their adsorption behavior of Cd(II) and Cr(VI) in aquatic environments

Researchers compared how polyethylene and polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics age in the environment and how that aging affects their ability to absorb heavy metals like cadmium and chromium from water. They found that aging changed the surface chemistry of both plastic types, increasing their capacity to pick up these toxic metals. The findings matter because aged microplastics in the environment may concentrate and transport more pollutants than fresh plastic particles.

2024 Chemosphere 28 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

Fenton aging significantly affects the heavy metal adsorption capacity of polystyrene microplastics

Researchers aged polystyrene microplastics using H2O2 and Fenton reagent and found that Fenton aging significantly increased surface oxidation and the capacity to adsorb copper, zinc, and lead, with adsorption capacity increasing as a function of aging intensity.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 335 citations
Article Tier 2

Aging microplastics in wastewater pipeline networks and treatment processes: Physicochemical characteristics and Cd adsorption

Researchers found that microplastics passing through wastewater pipeline networks and treatment processes develop altered physicochemical properties compared to virgin particles, with aged polyamide, polyethylene, and polystyrene showing enhanced cadmium adsorption capacity.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Sludge Thermal Hydrolysis for Mitigating Oxidative Stress of Polystyrene Nanoplastics in Anaerobic Digestion: Significance of the Solids Content

Thermal hydrolysis pretreatment of sewage sludge mitigated the oxidative stress caused by polystyrene nanoplastics in anaerobic digestion, with effectiveness varying by sludge solids content - reactive oxygen species increases were lower at 12% than at 4-8% total solids, improving methane production.

2023 ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 17 citations