Papers

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Article Tier 2

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.

2019 Environmental Science & Technology 426 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2020 Environmental Science & Technology 138 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

Different responses of mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge to PVC microplastics

This study found that PVC microplastics have opposite effects on methane production depending on digestion temperature: low concentrations of PVC boosted methane yield in mesophilic (37°C) anaerobic digestion while inhibiting it under thermophilic (55°C) conditions. These effects were linked to changes in the microbial communities responsible for breaking down organic matter, with PVC disrupting key propionate-oxidizing and methanogenic bacteria at higher temperatures. The findings are important for wastewater treatment facilities that use anaerobic digestion, as microplastics in sewage sludge could affect energy recovery efficiency.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 6 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Environmental Research 35 citations
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
Article Tier 2

Unraveling the effects and mechanisms of microplastics on anaerobic fermentation: Exploring microbial communities and metabolic pathways

Researchers investigated how five types of microplastics affect the anaerobic fermentation process used to treat sewage sludge. They found that polyethylene microplastics caused the greatest reduction in volatile fatty acid production, while polyvinyl chloride had the least impact, and all types disrupted microbial communities in distinct ways. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in wastewater could meaningfully interfere with sludge treatment efficiency.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Inhibition of aged microplastics and leachates on methane production from anaerobic digestion of sludge and identification of key components

Researchers investigated the effects of aged microplastics and their leachates on sludge anaerobic digestion, finding that aged PVC and PET significantly inhibited methane production, with phthalate esters and bisphenol A identified as key inhibitory components.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 55 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Global NEST Journal 3 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

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

Occurrence, effect, and fate of residual microplastics in anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge: A state-of-the-art review

This review assessed the occurrence, behavior, and fate of microplastics in anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge, finding that MPs survive digestion largely intact but can affect methane production and microbial community composition, and that digestate land application remains a major pathway for releasing sludge-retained MPs to soil.

2021 Bioresource Technology 100 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 35 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 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.

2025 ChemistrySelect
Article Tier 2

Analytical methods for quantifying PS and PVC Nanoplastic attachment to activated sludge Bacteria and their impact on community structure

Researchers developed and evaluated analytical methods for quantifying the attachment of polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride nanoplastics to activated sludge bacteria, while also examining the impact of these nanoplastics on microbial community structure.

2024 NanoImpact
Article Tier 2

Understanding and mitigating the distinctive stresses induced by diverse microplastics on anaerobic hydrogen-producing granular sludge

Researchers compared how polyethylene, PET, and PVC microplastics differentially stress anaerobic hydrogen-producing granular sludge, finding that PVC caused the greatest inhibition of hydrogen production (reduced to 66.6% of control) due to its more toxic leachates. Adding biochar to the sludge mitigated MP-induced inhibition by adsorbing leached chemicals, restoring hydrogen production efficiency.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 15 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Water Research 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics decrease the toxicity of cadmium to methane production from anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge

Researchers investigated the combined effects of PVC microplastics and cadmium on methane production during anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge. The study found that while both pollutants individually inhibit methane production, microplastics at certain concentrations actually decreased cadmium toxicity and helped recover methane yields, suggesting complex interactions between these co-occurring contaminants in wastewater systems.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Abundance and characteristics of microplastic in sewage sludge: A case study of Yangling, Shaanxi province, China

Researchers analyzed microplastics in sewage sludge from a wastewater treatment plant in Shaanxi, China, finding that 97% of particles were smaller than 400 micrometers, with PVC (polyvinyl chloride) making up the largest share — a particularly concerning finding given PVC's higher toxicity risk index. The study underscores how sewage sludge acts as a major accumulation point for microplastics, concentrating pollution that can then spread when sludge is applied to farmland.

2020 Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 82 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2020 ACS Omega 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Thermal hydrolysis alleviates polyethylene microplastic-induced stress in anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge

Scientists found that pretreating waste sludge with heat before anaerobic digestion reduced the negative effects that polyethylene microplastics have on the process. The thermal treatment improved methane production and helped maintain healthy microbial communities even in the presence of microplastics. The study suggests that thermal hydrolysis could be a practical strategy for wastewater treatment plants dealing with microplastic-contaminated sludge.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 28 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

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.

2025 Bioresource Technology 8 citations