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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Unraveling the effects and mechanisms of microplastics on anaerobic fermentation: Exploring microbial communities and metabolic pathways
ClearRevealing 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.
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.
Different Pathways of Microplastics Entering the Sludge Treatment System Distinctively Affect Anaerobic Sludge Fermentation Processes
Researchers developed a more realistic method for studying how microplastics affect anaerobic sludge fermentation by adding multiple types of microplastics to the wastewater treatment process rather than directly to sludge. They found that the pathway by which microplastics enter the system significantly influences fermentation outcomes, with the realistic approach showing different effects on short-chain fatty acid production than direct addition. The study suggests that previous research may not accurately represent real-world impacts of microplastics on sludge treatment.
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.
Fate and Impacts of Microplastics in Sludge Anaerobic Digestion: Effects on Methanogenic and Acidogenic Pathways
This review examined how microplastics in sewage sludge influence anaerobic digestion performance, covering effects on methane production, volatile fatty acid accumulation, and microbial community function. MPs inhibited methanogenesis at higher concentrations by altering microbial community structure and disrupting electron transfer pathways in the anaerobic digestion process.
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.
Revealing How Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastic Physicochemically Affect the Anaerobic Digestion of Waste Activated Sludge
PVC microplastics in sewage sludge change the surface chemistry of sludge flocs, raising the energy barrier between sludge and the microbes that break it down and causing microbial communities to reorganise. At low concentrations PVC initially increases contact efficiency, but at higher concentrations it coats sludge surfaces and blocks microbial access, ultimately reducing methane production in anaerobic digesters — a finding relevant to the performance and safety of wastewater treatment plants receiving plastic-contaminated sludge.
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.
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.
Effect of polystyrene microplastics on the volatile fatty acids production from waste activated sludge fermentation
Researchers studied how different concentrations of polystyrene microplastics affect volatile fatty acid production during anaerobic fermentation of waste activated sludge. Low microplastic concentrations significantly increased fatty acid production by enhancing solubilization and enzyme activity, while high concentrations decreased production by suppressing microbial activity. The findings suggest that microplastic contamination levels in wastewater sludge can either promote or hinder resource recovery depending on concentration.
[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.
Elucidating degradation properties, microbial community, and mechanism of microplastics in sewage sludge under different terminal electron acceptors conditions
Researchers found that the type of terminal electron acceptor significantly controls the degradation rates and pathways of polylactic acid, polyvinyl chloride, and polyhydroxyalkanoate microplastics in sewage sludge, with aerobic conditions promoting faster degradation than anaerobic alternatives.
Deciphering the role of microplastic size on anaerobic sludge digestion: Changes of dissolved organic matter, leaching compounds and microbial community
Researchers found that microplastic particle size significantly influences dissolved organic matter composition, leaching of additives, and microbial community structure during anaerobic sludge digestion, with smaller PVC microplastics causing greater disruption to the digestion process.
Deciphering the inhibition mechanisms of microplastics on the full-stage sludge anaerobic digestion via enrichment to anaerobic microbes and toxicity of released compounds
This study found that microplastics in sewage sludge significantly interfere with the waste treatment process by reducing the activity of key microorganisms needed to break down waste. More than half of the negative effect came from toxic chemicals released when microplastic particles rub against sludge, and the disrupted treatment also increased the risk of spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Effects of microplastics on the properties of different types of sewage sludge and strategies to overcome the inhibition: A review
This review examined how microplastics trapped in sewage sludge during wastewater treatment affect sludge properties, microbial communities, and treatment efficiency, while discussing strategies to overcome microplastic-induced inhibition of sludge processing.
Microbial and physicochemical responses of anaerobic hydrogen-producing granular sludge to polyethylene micro(nano)plastics
Researchers found that polyethylene micro- and nanoplastics disrupted anaerobic hydrogen-producing granular sludge in a concentration- and size-dependent manner, inhibiting microbial activity and altering community structure, with nanoplastics causing greater harm than larger microplastic particles.
Mechanism Involved in Polyvinyl Chloride Nanoplastics Induced Anaerobic Granular Sludge Disintegration: Microbial Interaction Energy, EPS Molecular Structure, and Metabolism Functions
Researchers investigated why polyvinyl chloride nanoplastics cause anaerobic granular sludge used in wastewater treatment to break apart. They found that the nanoplastics weakened microbial interactions, altered the structure of key biological compounds, and disrupted metabolic functions essential for sludge stability. The study matters because sludge disintegration reduces wastewater treatment efficiency, potentially allowing more pollutants to enter the environment.
Microplastics in anaerobic digestion: occurrence, impact, and mitigation strategies
This review examines the presence and impact of microplastics within anaerobic digestion systems used to process sewage sludge and organic waste. Researchers found that microplastics enter these systems through diverse waste inputs and may affect biogas production, microbial community composition, and overall process performance. The study highlights the need for further research into how microplastics interact with anaerobic digestion and what mitigation strategies could minimize their interference.
Long-Term Effects of Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics on Anaerobic Granular Sludge for Recovering Methane from Wastewater
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.
Microplastics in real wastewater treatment schemes: comparative assessment and relevant inhibition effects on anaerobic processes
Researchers investigated microplastic occurrence and removal in an Italian wastewater treatment plant, finding 3.6 MPs/L in influent dominated by polyester fibers, with conventional activated sludge achieving 86% removal, and demonstrating that concentrated sludge-associated microplastics can inhibit downstream anaerobic digestion.
Enhancing volatile fatty acid production from sewage sludge in batch fermentation tests
This paper is not directly about microplastics; it compares four pre-treatment methods for sewage sludge to optimize the production of volatile fatty acids through acidogenic fermentation, finding potassium permanganate treatment most effective — relevant to wastewater resource recovery.
From wastewater to sludge: The role of microplastics in shaping anaerobic digestion performance and antibiotic resistance gene dynamics
This review examines how microplastics in wastewater treatment plants affect the anaerobic digestion process used to break down sewage sludge, finding that certain plastic types can either boost or reduce biogas production depending on conditions. Importantly, microplastics increased the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes by up to 514%, raising serious concerns that wastewater treatment -- meant to protect public health -- may instead become a breeding ground for antibiotic-resistant bacteria when microplastics are present.
Microplastic Behavior in Sludge Pretreatment and Anaerobic Digestion: Impacts, Mechanistic Insights, and Mitigation Strategies
This review examines how microplastics behave during sludge pretreatment and anaerobic digestion, finding that microplastics frequently persist through these processes and can affect methane production and microbial communities when present at elevated concentrations, calling for mitigation strategies in wastewater treatment.
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.