The capacity of microplastics to harbor and propagate bacteria has been the focus of attention over the last decade. Such microplastic-supported bacterial colonization behavior in the municipal sewer system could be a critical ecological link influencing the biogeochemical activities and risks in receiving waters in urban areas, given the alarming microplastic loads discharged there. This study conducted a large-scale survey covering a wide range of residential and industrial catchments in Shanghai, China. We aimed to assess the microplastic prevalence and bacterial colonization patterns in different sewer habitats and to explore the role of land use, stratified wastewater and sediment, and microplastic attributes in shaping the patterns. We found that the sewer system formed a temporal but pronounced microplastic pool, with land use playing a significant role in the variability of microplastic prevalence. Industrial sewers contained a high abundance of microplastics with large particle sizes, diverse polymer compositions, and shapes. However, while there was a spatial discrepancy between urban and suburban areas in the abundance of microplastics in residential sewers, their predominant polymer and shape types were simple, i.e., polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and fibers. Sewer habitat characteristics, particularly the stratified wastewater and sediment determined microbial colonization patterns. The latter acted as a long-term sink for microplastics and supported the high growth of colonizers. In contrast, the wastewater plastisphere presented novel niches, hosting communities with a marked proportion of unique bacterial genera after colonization. Besides, statistics showed a highly positive and dense co-occurrence network of the plastisphere communities, especially those from the industrial sewer sediment, with enhanced metabolic activity, cellular processes and systems, and increased human pathogenic potential. Findings indicated a coarse and uncertain effect of the selective pressure of microplastic attributes on plastisphere community structure differentiation.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170653 | DOI Listing |
Environ Pollut
January 2025
Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Water Res
December 2024
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, PR China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, PR China.
Membrane separation technology has emerged as a highly energy-efficient method for microalgae enrichment and harvesting in wastewater treatment. However, membrane fouling caused by algal cells and stratified extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) remains a critical barrier to its industrial-scale application. This study meticulously investigates the micro process of algae-derived pollutants stacking to the membrane surface affected by stratified EPS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemosphere
November 2024
Science and Technology Innovation Center for Eco-environmental Protection, Shanghai Investigation, Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 200050, China; YANGTZE Eco-Environment Engineering Research Center, Three Gorges Corporation, Beijing, 100038, China.
Int J Biol Macromol
December 2024
Department of Environmental Health, Khalkhal University of Medical Sciences, Khalkhal, Iran.
The current investigation has utilized a simple and constructive stratified method to synthesize a binary (Cs/Z-8: chitosan (Cs) and zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (Z-8)) and ternary Cs/Z-8/Z-67 (Z-67: ZIF-67) biocomposites at room temperature. A certain amount of Cs/Z-8 (0.05, 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioelectrochemistry
February 2025
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, College of Environment and Climate, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China. Electronic address:
The core of bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) is electrochemically active microorganisms (EAMs), which exert spatial heterogeneity on electrode surface and influences BESs performance. Setting an optimal potential is an effective strategy for improving and optimizing BESs performance, however, how the electrode potential affects spatial structure of microbial community within anode biofilm is not known. Using a complex substrate-fed BES with a wastewater inoculum, this study investigated the community structure and composition of the stratified biofilm developed under the potential of -0.
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