Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Impact of Polyethylene Terephthalate Microplastics on Aerobic Granular Sludge Structure and EPS Composition in Wastewater Treatment

Researchers investigated how PET microplastics affect the structure and function of aerobic granular sludge used in wastewater treatment. Higher microplastic concentrations led to changes in granule size, altered the composition of extracellular polymeric substances, and shifted microbial community structure. The findings suggest that microplastic contamination in wastewater could compromise the stability and efficiency of biological treatment processes.

2025 Water 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in granular sequencing batch reactors: Effects on pollutant removal dynamics and the microbial community

Researchers investigated how polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate microplastics affect pollutant removal in granular sludge wastewater treatment reactors. They found that microplastic type and concentration influenced nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic compound removal rates, with PET particles showing a stronger tendency to accumulate within the biomass. The study indicates that microplastic contamination in wastewater treatment systems may compromise treatment efficiency and alter microbial community dynamics.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Insights into the microbial response of anaerobic granular sludge during long-term exposure to polyethylene terephthalate microplastics

Researchers investigated how polyethylene terephthalate microplastics affect anaerobic granular sludge used in wastewater treatment over 84 days. The study found that at relatively low concentrations, PET microplastics had minimal impact, but at higher concentrations they disrupted the microbial community structure and reduced the efficiency of the anaerobic treatment process.

2020 Water Research 182 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into response characteristics and inhibition mechanisms of anammox granular sludge to polyethylene terephthalate microplastics exposure

This study tested how PET microplastics affect the anammox process, a key biological method used in wastewater treatment to remove nitrogen. At higher concentrations, PET particles reduced treatment efficiency by about 16% and weakened the structure of the bacterial granules that perform the process. The findings matter because microplastics in sewage could impair the very systems designed to clean our wastewater.

2023 Bioresource Technology 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanisms underlying the detrimental impact of micro(nano)plastics on the stability of aerobic granular sludge: Interactions between micro(nano)plastics and extracellular polymeric substances

Researchers found that both micro- and nanoplastics at realistic concentrations harmed the performance of aerobic granular sludge, a technology used for wastewater treatment, by reducing its ability to remove nitrogen. The plastic particles interacted with the sticky substances that hold the sludge granules together, weakening their structural integrity. The study reveals a specific mechanism by which plastic pollution can undermine wastewater treatment systems that communities rely on for clean water.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on granular sludge: A review

This review examined how microplastics affect granular sludge properties and wastewater treatment efficiency in biological treatment systems, with wastewater plants considered major sinks for microplastics. The review found that harmful effects on granular characteristics are closely associated with microplastic size and concentration, summarizing how MPs disrupt granule formation and settleability.

2024 E3S Web of Conferences
Article Tier 2

Responses of SNEDPR-AGS system under long-term exposure of polyethylene terephthalate microplastics for treating low C/N wastewater: Granular effect and microbial structure

Researchers tested how PET microplastics affect a specialized wastewater treatment system designed for low-carbon wastewater over a 180-day period. They found that while the microplastics initially had little effect, long-term exposure degraded the structure of the treatment granules, reduced nitrogen removal efficiency, and shifted the microbial community. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in wastewater could gradually undermine the performance of advanced treatment systems.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics reshape frozen algal-bacterial granular reactivation: Decoding structural collapse and microbial drivers of nutrient removal

Researchers investigated how co-existing PET, PVC, and polyethylene microplastics affect the reactivation of frozen algal-bacterial granular sludge used in wastewater treatment, finding that moderate MP concentrations enhanced granular compactness and nitrogen and phosphorus removal while elevated concentrations disrupted structural stability and microbial dynamics. The study identifies MP concentration thresholds critical for maintaining granular sludge function after frozen storage.

2025 Bioresource Technology
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Deciphering anammox response characteristics and potential mechanisms to polyethylene terephthalate microplastic exposure

This study tested how PET microplastics affect the bacteria used in wastewater treatment for removing nitrogen pollutants. Long-term exposure to high concentrations of PET microplastics reduced the nitrogen removal efficiency by nearly 29%, though the system partially recovered over three months. The findings matter because compromised wastewater treatment means more pollutants could end up in waterways that supply drinking water.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Response of aerobic granular sludge under polyethylene microplastics stress: Physicochemical properties, decontamination performance, and microbial community

Researchers investigated the impact of polyethylene microplastics on aerobic granular sludge used in wastewater treatment. The study found that microplastics significantly disrupted sludge structure, settling properties, and enzyme activities related to denitrification and phosphorus removal, with increased reactive oxygen species and cell membrane damage at higher concentrations.

2022 Journal of Environmental Management 79 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastics in granular sludge systems: mechanisms of disruption, retention, and microbial adaptation in wastewater treatment technologies

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics disrupt the biological systems used to treat wastewater, focusing on granular sludge technologies. Plastic particles damage the microbial communities that break down waste by causing oxidative stress and breaking apart the protective structures that hold bacteria together. This matters because if wastewater treatment becomes less effective due to plastic contamination, more pollutants including microplastics could pass through into waterways that supply drinking water.

2025 Water Research X 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of microparticles on the filamentous bulking of activated sludge

This study found that PET microparticles contribute to the filamentous bulking problem in wastewater treatment plant activated sludge, where excess filamentous bacteria cause settling failures. Microplastics can disrupt the biological treatment processes that wastewater plants rely on to remove pollutants before discharge.

2023 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

The Effects of Microplastics on Floc Formation, Nutrient Removal and Settleability in Wastewater Treatment

Researchers investigated how microplastics affect floc formation, nutrient removal, and settleability in wastewater treatment systems, examining the mechanisms by which these ubiquitous anthropogenic pollutants entering via packaging, cosmetics, and other production sectors disrupt activated sludge processes.

2024
Article Tier 2

The Effects of Microplastics on Floc Formation, Nutrient Removal and Settleability in Wastewater Treatment

Researchers examined the interactions of microplastics with activated sludge in wastewater treatment plants, investigating effects on floc formation, nutrient removal efficiency, and settleability to understand how microplastic contamination may compromise treatment performance.

2024
Article Tier 2

Wastewater treatment alters microbial colonization of microplastics

Analysis of microplastics and their biofilms across raw sewage, effluent, and sludge at two wastewater treatment plants found that >99% of influent MPs were retained in sludge, and that wastewater treatment substantially altered biofilm microbial composition, enriching bioflocculation-associated taxa.

2021 PLoS ONE 133 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Revealing the influencing mechanisms of polystyrene microplastics (MPs) on the performance and stability of the algal-bacterial granular sludge

Researchers investigated how polystyrene microplastics affect algal-bacterial granular sludge used in wastewater treatment, finding that the sludge removed over 96% of incoming microplastics but that microplastics inhibited COD removal by 2.6 to 4.1% and total phosphorus removal by 2.9 to 5.8%. Structural stability was compromised through oxidative stress, altered protein composition, and reduced abundance of key functional bacteria.

2022 Bioresource Technology 73 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Nano–Sized Polyethylene Terephthalate on Microalgal–Bacterial Granular Sludge in Non–Aerated Wastewater Treatment

This study found that nano-sized PET microplastics at concentrations up to 30 mg/L had little impact on a microalgal-bacterial wastewater treatment system, but at 50 mg/L began degrading performance after two weeks by suppressing algal growth and disrupting energy metabolism in the microbial community. The granular sludge responded by producing extracellular polymers that adsorbed the nanoplastics, acting as a partial defense mechanism. These findings suggest that current nanoplastic contamination levels in municipal wastewater are unlikely to severely compromise this emerging treatment technology, but higher concentrations could be problematic.

2023 Water 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Response of aerobic granular sludge under acute inhibition by polystyrene microplastics: Activity, aggregation performance, and microbial analysis

Researchers investigated how different concentrations of polystyrene microplastics affect the performance of aerobic granular sludge used in wastewater treatment. The study found that increasing microplastic concentrations inhibited nitrogen removal rates and disrupted the microbial community structure within the sludge. Evidence indicates that microplastic contamination in wastewater can compromise the effectiveness of biological treatment processes.

2024 Environmental Pollution 17 citations
Article Tier 2

The entering of polyethylene terephthalate microplastics into biological wastewater treatment system affects aerobic sludge digestion differently from their direct entering into sludge treatment system

Researchers found that PET microplastics entering a biological wastewater treatment system before the sludge treatment stage affected aerobic sludge digestion differently than microplastics added directly to the sludge, highlighting that the treatment pathway determines the nature of microplastic impacts on sludge processing systems.

2020 Water Research 84 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polyethylene terephthalate microplastics on performance of sequencing-batch membrane bioreactor for simulated municipal wastewater treatment

Researchers assessed the impact of PET microplastics on a sequencing-batch membrane bioreactor treating simulated municipal wastewater and found that PET MPs altered microbial community composition, reduced treatment efficiency at higher concentrations, and increased membrane fouling. The study highlights risks to wastewater infrastructure from microplastic contamination.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact and mechanism of polyethylene terephthalate microplastics with different particle sizes on sludge anaerobic digestion

Researchers examined how polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics of different particle sizes and physical aging states affect anaerobic digestion of municipal wastewater treatment sludge, conducting comparative experiments to elucidate the impact mechanisms. They found that PET microplastics accumulated in sludge alter the digestion process, with particle size influencing the degree of disruption to microbial activity and biogas production.

2024 Environmental Pollution 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect evaluation of microplastics on activated sludge nitrification and denitrification

Researchers found that microplastics entering wastewater treatment plants interfere with the nitrification and denitrification processes carried out by activated sludge microbes, potentially reducing the effectiveness of nutrient removal in sewage treatment. This effect could undermine water quality if microplastic loads in wastewater continue to increase.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 172 citations