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

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Abstract

The effect of microplastics (MPs) retained in waste activated sludge (WAS) on anaerobic digestion (AD) performance has attracted more and more attention. However, their effect on thermophilic AD remains unclear. Here, the influence of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) MPs on methanogenesis and active microbial communities in mesophilic (37 °C) and thermophilic (55 °C) AD was investigated. The results showed that 1, 5, and 10 mg/L PVC MPs significantly promoted the cumulative methane yield in mesophilic AD by 5.62%, 7.36%, and 8.87%, respectively, while PVC MPs reduced that in thermophilic AD by 13.30%, 18.82%, and 19.99%, respectively. Moreover, propionate accumulation was only detected at the end of thermophilic AD with PVC MPs. Microbial community analysis indicated that PVC MPs in mesophilic AD enriched hydrolytic and acidifying bacteria (Candidatus Competibacter, Lentimicrobium, Romboutsia, etc.) together with acetoclastic methanogens (Methanosarcina, Methanosaeta). By contrast, most carbohydrate-hydrolyzing bacteria, propionate-oxidizing bacterium (Pelotomaculum), and Methanosarcina were inhibited by PVC MPs in thermophilic AD. Network analysis further suggested that PVC MPs significantly changed the relationship of key microorganisms in the AD process. A stronger correlation among the above genera occurred in mesophilic AD, which may promote the methanogenic performance. These results suggested that PVC MPs affected mesophilic and thermophilic AD of WAS via changing microbial activities and interaction.

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Data availability

The raw files of sequence data are available in the SRA (Sequence Read Archive) of NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) with the project number of PRJNA902535.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52070135) and the National Key R&D Program of China (2022YFE0108500).

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Zhao-Gan Zhen: investigation, data curation, validation, writing — original draft. Jun-Xiao Luo: investigation, data curation, validation, writing — original draft. Yang Su: investigation, visualization. Zi-Yuan Xia: software, data curation. Tong An: investigation, data curation. Zhao-Yong Sun: supervision, resources. Min Gou: funding acquisition, writing — review and editing, methodology. Yue-Qin Tang: supervision, writing — review and editing.

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Correspondence to Min Gou.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Zhen, ZG., Luo, JX., Su, Y. et al. Different responses of mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge to PVC microplastics. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 121584–121598 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30935-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30935-5

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