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Title Impact of Nano-Sized Polyethylene Terephthalate on Microalgal-Bacterial Granular Sludge in Non-Aerated Wastewater Treatment
ID_Doc 21266
Authors Du, C; Xiong, WX; Zhu, GY; Ji, B
Title Impact of Nano-Sized Polyethylene Terephthalate on Microalgal-Bacterial Granular Sludge in Non-Aerated Wastewater Treatment
Year 2023
Published Water, 15.0, 22
DOI 10.3390/w15223914
Abstract The widely used plastics in our daily lives have resulted in ubiquitous microplastics and nanoplastics in wastewater, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). As an emerging green process for wastewater treatment and resource recovery, microalgal-bacterial granular sludge (MBGS) aligns with the concept of the circular economy. However, it is unclear whether the tiny PET can affect the MBGS process. Thus, this study investigated the impact of nano-sized PET (nPET) on the MBGS process. The results showed that 10 to 30 mg/L nPET had no obvious impact on pollutant removal as compared with the control group. However, the performance of the MBGS with the addition of 50 mg/L nPET became worse after 15 days. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the MBGS adsorbed nPET by generating extracellular polymeric substances. Further microbial analyses showed that the algal abundance in prokaryotes slowly declined with increasing concentrations of nPET, while the reduced energy storage and electron transfer in eukaryotes might lead to an inferior performance at 50 mg/L nPET. Overall, the MBGS was demonstrated to exhibit good adaptability to nPET-containing wastewater, which showed the potential to be applied for the treatment of municipal wastewater containing nanoplastics.
Author Keywords municipal wastewater; microalgal-bacterial granular sludge; polyethylene terephthalate; circular economy; resource recovery; nanoplastics
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
EID WOS:001115306700001
WoS Category Environmental Sciences; Water Resources
Research Area Environmental Sciences & Ecology; Water Resources
PDF https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/22/3914/pdf?version=1699528553
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