Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics Facilitate Nitrous Oxide Production in Partial Nitritation Systems

Researchers found that PVC microplastics in wastewater treatment systems can increase the production of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. Higher concentrations of these plastic particles disrupted normal nitrogen-processing activity, while lower doses had minimal effect on overall system performance.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of partial nitrification efficiency as a response to cadmium concentration and microplastic polyvinylchloride abundance during landfill leachate treatment

PVC microplastics and cadmium individually inhibited the bacterial process of ammonia oxidation in wastewater, but in combination at certain concentrations, the PVC particles appeared to partially protect the bacteria. Understanding how microplastics interact with wastewater treatment processes is important because they affect how well sewage plants remove pollutants.

2020 Chemosphere 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of microplastic polyvinylchloride and antibiotics tetracycline co-effect on the partial nitrification process

This study investigated the combined effects of PVC microplastics and the antibiotic tetracycline on nitrification — the biological process by which wastewater treatment plants remove ammonia from sewage. Both pollutants reduced nitrification efficiency, and their combined presence caused greater disruption than either alone, complicating the treatment of wastewater that contains multiple contaminants.

2020 Marine Pollution Bulletin 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of Microplastics on the Removal of Nitrogen and Phosphorus from Synthetic Piggery Digestate by Microalgae

Researchers investigated how polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, and polyethylene microplastics affect microalgae growth and the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from synthetic piggery digestate, finding that PVC particle size and content significantly impaired microalgae performance and ammonia nitrogen removal, while PET showed minimal effects on the biological treatment system.

2022 Polymers 11 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
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 10 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

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

Microplastic interference influences Pseudomonas fluorescens in denitrification efficiency of wastewater treatment

Researchers investigated how microplastics interfere with Pseudomonas fluorescens activity in denitrification processes at wastewater treatment plants, finding that microplastic contamination disrupted microbial performance and could compromise nitrogen removal from wastewater.

2025
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 2 citations
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

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

Microplastics shaped performance, microbial ecology and community assembly in simultaneous nitrification, denitrification and phosphorus removal process

This study found that polystyrene and PVC microplastics disrupted the performance of wastewater treatment systems designed to remove nitrogen and phosphorus, reducing nitrogen removal by up to 10%. The microplastics altered microbial communities, decreased cooperation between beneficial bacteria, and blocked important biological pathways. Since wastewater treatment is a key barrier against pollution reaching drinking water, microplastic interference with these systems could indirectly increase human exposure to harmful contaminants.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 12 citations
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

Responses of performance, antibiotic resistance genes and bacterial communities of partial nitrification system to polyamide microplastics

Short- and long-term exposure of a partial nitrification bioreactor to polyamide microplastics found that while overall treatment performance was minimally affected, chronic exposure elevated ammonia oxidation rates and shifted bacterial community composition, with enrichment of microplastic-colonizing taxa potentially altering nitrogen removal pathways over time.

2021 Bioresource Technology 59 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

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.

2021 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of polyethylene microplastics on the nitrogen removal and bacterial community in sequencing batch reactor at different hydraulic retention times

Researchers examined how polyethylene microplastics affect nitrogen removal performance in biological wastewater treatment at different hydraulic retention times. The study found that the presence of microplastics amplified the negative effects of shortened treatment times on nitrogen removal efficiency and altered bacterial communities and enzyme levels involved in nitrification and denitrification, offering new insights into how microplastics interfere with wastewater treatment processes.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 7 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

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

Effects of polyvinylchloride microplastics on the toxicity of nanoparticles and antibiotics to aerobic granular sludge: Nitrogen removal, microbial community and resistance genes

Researchers examined how PVC microplastics affect wastewater treatment systems that also contain copper oxide nanoparticles and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. They found that low concentrations of microplastics actually reduced some toxic effects of the other pollutants, but higher concentrations worsened nitrogen removal efficiency and increased antibiotic resistance genes. The study highlights the complex ways microplastics can alter the behavior of other contaminants in water treatment.

2023 Environmental Research 20 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 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

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