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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics Facilitate Nitrous Oxide Production in Partial Nitritation Systems
ClearThe impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on biological nitrogen removal processes: Exacerbating the greenhouse effect
This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics accumulate in wastewater treatment plants and interfere with the biological processes that remove nitrogen from water. The disruption leads to increased emissions of nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas, making the problem both an environmental health concern and a climate issue. The findings suggest that microplastic contamination in wastewater is undermining treatment effectiveness while simultaneously contributing to global warming.
Analysis of the Partial Nitrification Process Affected by Polyvinylchloride Microplastics in Treating High-Ammonia Anaerobic Digestates
Researchers found that PVC microplastics at high concentrations inhibited the partial nitrification process used to treat ammonia-rich wastewater from anaerobic digesters. The findings indicate that microplastics accumulating in wastewater treatment systems can interfere with biological nitrogen removal.
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.
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.
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.
A 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.
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 from polyvinyl chloride agricultural plastic films do not change nitrogenous gas emission but enhance denitrification potential
Researchers investigated whether microplastics from PVC and PE agricultural films affect nitrogen gas emissions from soil. They found that while PVC microplastics did not significantly change nitrogenous gas emissions under normal oxygen conditions, they enhanced the soil's denitrification potential under low-oxygen conditions. The study suggests that plastic film residues in farmland may subtly alter soil nitrogen cycling processes.
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.
Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics Affect Methane Production from the Anaerobic Digestion of Waste Activated Sludge through Leaching Toxic Bisphenol-A
PVC microplastics were added to anaerobic sludge digestion systems at concentrations of 10–60 particles/g, finding that low concentrations (10 particles/g) slightly increased methane production (+5.9%) while higher concentrations inhibited it by up to 24.2%, with inhibition linked to bisphenol-A leaching from PVC. The study reveals a non-linear dose-dependent effect of PVC microplastics on biogas production in wastewater treatment.
Response of wastewater treatment performance and bacterial community to original and aged polyvinyl chloride microplastics in sequencing batch reactors
This study found that PVC microplastics, both fresh and aged, severely harmed wastewater treatment processes by reducing the removal of harmful chemicals like ammonia and organic pollutants. The microplastics shifted the bacterial communities in the treatment system, reducing helpful nitrogen-removing bacteria while promoting other types. This means microplastic contamination of wastewater plants could lead to poorer water treatment quality, allowing more pollutants to reach rivers and drinking water sources.
Estuarine plastisphere as an overlooked source of N2O production
Researchers found that the "plastisphere" — the community of microbes that colonizes floating plastic debris in estuaries — produces more nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) than surrounding water, revealing that plastic pollution may be quietly contributing to climate change through altered microbial chemistry.
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.
Impact of preozonation on biogas potential of PVC microplastics-containing waste sludge
Researchers evaluated the impact of preozonation on anaerobic digestion of wastewater sludge contaminated with PVC microplastics, measuring biogas and methane yields to determine whether ozone pretreatment could overcome the inhibitory effect that insoluble PVC particles exert on sludge-degrading microorganisms.
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.
Dose effect of polyethylene microplastics on nitrous oxide emissions from paddy soils cultivated for different periods
Researchers found that high doses of polyethylene microplastics (0.5% or more) significantly increased nitrous oxide emissions from paddy soils by promoting nitrifier and denitrifier activity, while low doses had negligible effects.
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.
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.
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.
Response of denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation processes in freshwater and marine sediments to polyvinyl chloride microplastics
Researchers investigated how polyvinyl chloride microplastics affect denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (n-DAMO) processes in freshwater and marine sediments. They found that the presence of microplastics significantly increased n-DAMO rates compared to controls, with marine sediments showing a more pronounced response. The study provides the first evidence that PVC microplastics may actually enhance methane-consuming microbial processes in sediments.
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.
Microplastics promote N2O emissions by enhancing nitrification via ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in estuarine and coastal sediments
Incubation experiments with sediments from China's Yangtze River estuary found that polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET microplastics all significantly increased nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions — a potent greenhouse gas — by stimulating ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) rather than the archaea that normally dominate nitrogen cycling. Genomic analysis revealed that these bacteria carry enzymes capable of degrading plastic, possibly explaining why they thrive in plastic-contaminated sediments. This links microplastic pollution to climate change through an overlooked pathway: disrupting coastal nitrogen cycling and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Polyethylene microplastics alter the microbial functional gene abundances and increase nitrous oxide emissions from paddy soils
Researchers found that polyethylene microplastics in paddy soils significantly increased nitrous oxide emissions by altering microbial community structure and functional gene abundances related to nitrogen cycling.
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.