Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Effects of Different Microplastics on Methane Production and Microbial Community Structure in Anaerobic Digestion of Cattle Manure

Researchers tested how four types of microplastics affect methane production during anaerobic digestion of cattle manure. They found that polyethylene microplastics increased cumulative methane production by nearly 12% by enriching methane-producing microorganisms, while polyhydroxyalkanoate microplastics inhibited methane production by suppressing key methanogenic communities.

2025 Agronomy 6 citations
Article Tier 2

A review of mechanisms underlying the impacts of (nano)microplastics on anaerobic digestion

This review summarized mechanisms by which nano- and microplastics affect anaerobic digestion in wastewater treatment, covering inhibition and enhancement pathways, impacts on biogas production and methane yield, and effects on microbial community structure.

2021 Bioresource Technology 130 citations
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

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

Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Bioplastics and Food Waste under Mesophilic and Thermophilic Conditions: Synergistic Effect and Biodegradation

Researchers investigated anaerobic co-digestion of bioplastics (PLA and PHA) with food waste under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions, finding synergistic effects that enhanced methane production yields, demonstrating that co-digestion could be an effective strategy for managing bioplastic waste while generating renewable energy.

2022 Fermentation 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of alkaline thermal hydrolysis on anaerobic digestion of mixed sludge contaminated with microplastics

Researchers tested alkaline thermal hydrolysis pretreatment on sludge containing polyethylene and PVC microplastics before anaerobic digestion, finding that the pretreatment altered how microplastics affected subsequent methane production, with effects varying by polymer type and concentration.

2025 Journal of Water Process Engineering
Article Tier 2

Fate and effect of Polyamide-6 microplastics in mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion

This study examined the fate and impact of polyamide-6 microplastics during mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion, finding that digestion temperature affects polymer degradation rates and that microplastics influence methane production and microbial communities.

2024 Environmental Pollution 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Pretreatment and Anaerobic Co-digestion of Selected PHB and PLA Bioplastics

Researchers evaluated thermal and alkaline pretreatments for PHB and PLA bioplastics to enhance anaerobic digestion, finding pretreatment increased biochemical methane potential by over 100% and reduced lag times before methane production. Bench-scale co-digesters fed synthetic primary sludge with PHB achieved 80-98% conversion to biomethane, with a 5% increase in total biomethane output.

2018 Frontiers in Environmental Science 141 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene microplastics and nanoplastics distinctively affect anaerobic sludge treatment for hydrogen and methane production

Researchers found that polystyrene microplastics and nanoplastics have distinct effects on anaerobic sludge treatment, with nanoplastics generally inhibiting both hydrogen and methane production while microplastics could actually promote hydrogen generation under certain conditions.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on humification and fungal community during cow manure composting

Researchers studied how polyethylene, PVC, and biodegradable PHA microplastics affect the composting process of cow manure. They found that all types of microplastics reduced humification quality, decreased fungal community diversity during peak composting temperatures, and some types increased the relative abundance of plant-pathogenic fungi.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 97 citations
Article Tier 2

Thermophilic anaerobic digestion of polylactic acid, polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics: effect of inoculum-substrate ratio and microbiome

Researchers tested thermophilic and mesophilic anaerobic digestion of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polylactic acid microplastics at different substrate ratios to assess methane production and MP degradation. PLA showed greater degradation under thermophilic conditions, while PE and PP were largely resistant to both digestion temperatures.

2025 Biodegradation 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate of polylactic acid microplastics during anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste: Insights on property changes, released dissolved organic matters, and biofilm formation

Polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics were tracked through the anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste, revealing that PLA particles underwent surface changes and released dissolved organic matter but were not fully degraded during the process. The study shows that even supposedly biodegradable plastics can persist and alter biofilm formation in anaerobic digestion systems.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 64 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Comprehensive meta-analysis reveals the impact of non-biodegradable plastic pollution on methane production in anaerobic digestion

This meta-analysis found that microplastics and nanoplastics interfere with anaerobic digestion, a process used to treat organic waste and produce methane. Smaller nanoplastics had a greater impact, suggesting that plastic contamination in waste could reduce the efficiency of this important waste treatment and energy recovery method.

2024 Chemical Engineering Journal 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Overcoming micro/nanoplastics-induced inhibition in anaerobic digestion: Advances in remediation techniques

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics inhibit anaerobic digestion performance — reducing biogas yield and organic removal — and surveys remediation strategies including physical, chemical, and biological approaches to overcome their disruptive effects in waste treatment systems.

2025 Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Article Tier 2

Impact of micro-nanoplastics on biochemical phases of anaerobic digestion in sewage sludge treatment: mechanistic insights and future prospects

Micro- and nanoplastics were found to disrupt the biochemical phases of anaerobic digestion, affecting the efficiency of the biological process used to treat organic waste. Understanding these impacts is important because anaerobic digestion is a common wastewater and sludge treatment method that may both receive and process microplastic-contaminated materials.

2025 International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Two Birds with One Stone: Bioplastics and Food Waste Anaerobic Co-Digestion

Researchers investigated anaerobic co-digestion of bioplastics with food waste, finding that certain bioplastics can be simultaneously degraded while boosting biogas yields, supporting circular economy goals by turning both waste streams into renewable energy.

2022 Environments 22 citations
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

Methanosarcina thermophila bioaugmentation and its synergy with biochar growth support particles versus polypropylene microplastics in thermophilic food waste anaerobic digestion

Researchers found that combining biochar with Methanosarcina thermophila bioaugmentation improved methane yields in thermophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste, while polypropylene microplastics used as a comparison growth support showed different performance, highlighting biochar as a promising additive for optimizing digestion systems.

2022 Bioresource Technology 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Differential effects of petroleum-based and bio-based microplastics on anaerobic digestion: A review

This review compared the effects of petroleum-based and bio-based microplastics on anaerobic digestion processes, finding that both types can inhibit microbial activity and alter digestion performance, with the relative impacts depending on plastic polymer type and concentration.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 29 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
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Microplastics divert carbon flow in anaerobic digestion: a meta-analysis reveals product-specific effects

Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 55 studies and found that microplastics do not simply inhibit anaerobic digestion but redirect carbon flow within it — suppressing methane production while boosting volatile fatty acid accumulation — with the direction and magnitude of effects determined by polymer type, concentration, size, and temperature.

2026 Bioresource Technology
Article Tier 2

Enhancement of calcium oxide on hydrogen production and degradation of polylactic acid microplastics in anaerobic fermentation

Polylactic acid (PLA) is promoted as an eco-friendly biodegradable plastic, but under conventional anaerobic conditions it degrades slowly and can accumulate as microplastics in sewage treatment systems. Adding calcium oxide (CaO) to anaerobic fermentation reactors both accelerated PLA microplastic degradation and boosted hydrogen gas production as an energy byproduct. The mechanism involves CaO creating mildly alkaline conditions that help break PLA's ester bonds while buffering against acid buildup that normally inhibits microbes. This suggests that chemical additives could make biological microplastic treatment more practical in wastewater settings while recovering renewable energy simultaneously.

2026 Journal of Environmental Management
Article Tier 2

Effects of co-substrates’ mixing ratios and loading rate variations on food and agricultural wastes’ anaerobic co-digestion performance

This study optimized anaerobic co-digestion of food and agricultural waste to produce biogas, exploring how mixing ratios and loading rates affect performance. Diverting organic waste to bioenergy reduces the fraction of municipal waste that enters landfills and ultimately contributes to microplastic generation.

2021 Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery 12 citations