The retention of polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) microplastics in sewage
sludge during wastewater treatment raises concerns. However, the effects
of PVC microplastics on methane production from anaerobic digestion
of waste activated sludge (WAS) have never been documented. In this
work, the effects of PVC microplastics (1 mm, 10–60 particles/g
TS) on anaerobic methane production from WAS were investigated. The
presence of 10 particles/g TS of PVC microplastics significantly (P = 0.041) increased methane production by 5.9 ± 0.1%,
but higher levels of PVC microplastics (i.e., 20, 40, and 60 particles/g
TS) inhibited methane production to 90.6 ± 0.3%, 80.5 ±
0.1%, and 75.8 ± 0.2% of the control, respectively. Model-based
analysis indicated that PVC microplastics at >20 particles/g TS
decreased
both methane potential (B0) and hydrolysis coefficient
(k) of WAS. The mechanistic studies showed that bisphenol A (BPA)
leaching from PVC microplastics was the primary reason for the decreased
methane production, causing significant (P = 0.037,
0.01, 0.004) inhibitory effects on the hydrolysis-acidification process.
The long-term effects of PVC microplastics revealed that the microbial
community was shifted in the direction against hydrolysis-acidification
and methanation. In conclusion, PVC microplastic caused negative effects
on WAS anaerobic digestion through leaching the toxic BPA.
General rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.