Biodegradability of PBAT/PLA coated paper and bioplastic bags under anaerobic digestion.

Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) are two of biodegradable plastics with the highest production capacities in 2021. Bioplastic waste management can be easily integrated with organic waste management, especially when bioplastics are used as food packaging material, since they are potentially biodegradable. The aim of this study was to assess the biodegradability of biodegradable polymer-coated paper (BPCP) and bioplastic bags made from PBAT/PLA blend during mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion (AD) and to reveal the changes in the physicochemical properties of the bioplastics. BPCP obtained 155 NmL-CH4/g VS and 307.3 NmL-CH4/g VS under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions, respectively, but left bioplastic film residues. The bioplastic bags did not exhibit significant biodegradation during the AD processes. 1H NMR results indicated that the ratio of PLA to PBAT decreased significantly after AD of the BPCP film and that PLA monomers were formed from the bioplastic bags, leading to a decrease in the hydrophobicity on the surfaces of the materials. Methanoculleus was found to be enriched on the bioplastic surface after mesophilic AD. From the perspective of coupling bioplastic waste management with the food waste management, the incorporation of BPCP into the AD reactor not only enhances system stability and methane production to a greater extent than biodegradable plastic bags but also raises concerns regarding the residual biofilm when utilizing the digestate for direct land applications.

Impact of the thermo-alkaline pretreatment on the anaerobic digestion of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) blended plastics.

Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) is a biodegradable plastic that is difficult to degrade under both mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic conditions. In this study, the impact of the thermo-alkaline pretreatment (48 h, 70 °C, 1 % w/v NaOH) on the anaerobic degradation (AD) of PBAT, poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and PBAT/PLA blended plastics was investigated. Under mesophilic conditions, pretreatment only improved the methane yield of PBAT/PLA/starch plastic (100 days, 51 and 34 NmL/g VSadd for the treated and original plastics, respectively). Under thermophilic conditions, the pretreatment increased the methanogenic rate of PLA, PBAT and PBAT/PLA/starch plastic at the beginning stage (22 days, 35 and 79 NmL/g VSadd for original and treated PBAT, respectively), but did not change the methane yield at the end of the incubation (100 days, 91 NmL/g VSadd for original and treated PBAT). The reduction in the molecular weight and the formation of pore structures on the plastic surface accelerated the utilization of plastics by microorganisms. Furthermore, the pretreated plastics tend to form microplastics (MPs) with size predominantly below 500 µm (>90 %). The numbers of MPs dynamically changed with the degradation time. Several genera of bacteria showed specific degradation of biodegradable plastics under thermophilic conditions, including Desulfitibacter, Coprothermobacter, Tepidimicrobium, c_ D8A-2 and Thermacetogenium. The results suggest that more attention should be paid to the problem of MPs arising from the thermo-alkaline pretreatment.

Wet oxidation technology can significantly reduce both microplastics and nanoplastics.

For the resource recovery of biomass waste, it is a challenge to simultaneously remove micro-/nano-plastics pollution but preserve organic resources. Wet oxidation is a promising technology for valorization of organic wastes through thermal hydrolysis and oxidation. This might in turn result in the degradation of microplastics in the presence of oxygen and high temperatures. Based on this hypothesis, this study quantified both microplastics and nanoplastics in an industrial-scale wet oxidation reactor from a full-size coverage perspective. Wet oxidation significantly reduced the size and mass of individual microplastics, and decreased total mass concentration of microplastics and nanoplastics by 94.8 % to 98.6 %. This technology also reduced the micro- and nanoplastic shapes and polymer types, resulting in a complete removal of fibers, clusters, polypropylene (PP) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The present study confirms that wet oxidation technology is effective in removing microplastics and nanoplastics while recovering organic waste.

Substance flow analysis on the leachate DOM molecules along five typical membrane advanced treatment processes.

The processes combining biological treatment with membrane separation technologies have been widely adopted for leachate treatment. However, dissolved organic matter (DOM) of leachate membrane concentrates generated from various membrane separation technologies has not been systematically investigated in field scale. Therefore, substance flow analysis based on DOM molecular information of leachate membrane concentrates from primary membrane systems (i.e. nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO)) and secondary membrane systems (i.e. disk-tube reverse osmosis (DTRO) and humic substance filtration system (HSF)) in five engineering-scale leachate treatment facilities, obtained via ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid quadrupole Orbitrap mass spectrometry, was given and simultaneously compared. In NF concentrates (NFC), 45.1-98.5% of DOM originated from raw leachate (L-DOM) was concentrated, showing poor biodegradability. The L-DOM interception characteristics of NFC-fed HSF were mainly based on volume reduction but concentration effect. L-DOM in RO concentrates (ROC) showed a higher proportion of peak intensity reduced components, accounting for 50.3-96.8%, and organic composition changes were more dependent on water quality characteristics than membrane types. ROC-fed DTRO intercepted 49.3-72.6% of L-DOM, but DTRO may be less effective at intercepting DOM molecules in landfill leachate with higher oxidation levels. Considering risks from feasible treatment technologies, the difficulty for the treatment of leachate membrane concentrates followed the order of DTRO concentrates > ROC > NFC. This study suggests that ROC-fed DTRO need to be controlled to avoid amplifying the treatment difficulty. Besides, treatment technologies for RO and DTRO concentrates with low-concentrated but refractory DOM and high salts should be explored.

Fate of a biobased polymer via high-solid anaerobic co-digestion with food waste and following aerobic treatment: Insights on changes of polymer physicochemical properties and the role of microbial and fungal communities.

Degradation of bioplastics in food-waste-treating anaerobic digestion (AD) plants is becoming an increasingly concerning issue as they are inevitably mixed with food waste during the waste collection process. The aim of this study was to assess the degradation of PBAT/PLA based biopolymer bags during mesophilic and thermophilic AD, co-digested with food waste, and subsequent aerobic post-treatment. After the AD process, no discernable biological degradation was observed for all of the PBAT/PLA polymers. The comparison of FTIR, XRD, TG analysis and contact angle analysis between raw and degraded PBAT/PLA polymer revealed structural changes after anaerobic incubation. Subsequent aerobic treatment facilitated the degradation of the PBAT/PLA polymers from thermophilic AD, which was attributed to the polymer-degrading microorganisms Brevundimonas and Sphingobacterium. Physical disintegration of the PBAT/PLA polymer was observed under thermophilic conditions. Those undegraded polymer fragments could affect digestate quality and increase the risk of releasing microplastics into the environment.

Emission of airborne microplastics from municipal solid waste transfer stations in downtown.

With the continuous progress of urbanization, municipal solid waste (MSW) transfer stations, which are key points for garbage collection and transportation, have moved to residential areas than before. The emission characteristics of gas-phase emerging contaminants should be comprehensively assessed in the assessment of health threats to workers and environmental risks. In this study, the emission characteristics of airborne microplastic particles (>50 µm) were analyzed on the roof vent and waste reception hall of four MSW transfer stations in Shanghai during different seasons. The average concentration of airborne microplastic particles was 2.5 ± 1.3 n/m3. The particle sizes of airborne microplastics at the four waste transfer stations were mainly in the range of 100 µm to 500 µm. Microplastics mainly occur as films and fibers. The dominant microplastic type was Rayon, which accounted for 69.4% of the total amount. The rate of microplastic particles emission into the environment for a single transfer station was estimated to be in the range of 41,297 to 82,593 n/h. Compared with the waste reception hall, the concentration of airborne microplastic particles in the roof vent decreased by 25%, which indicated that the odor treatment facility effectively reduces the concentration of microplastic particles.

Vermicomposting leads to more abundant microplastics in the municipal excess sludge.

Municipal excess activated sludge is not only an important reservoir of microplastics particles, but is also a vehicle of entry of microplastics into the environments as soil amendments or organic fertilizer. Vermicomposting is a cost-effective technology for sludge valorization. However, it is not clear whether vermicomposting affects the occurrence of microplastics in residual sludge. Here, the variation of microplastics (0.05-5 mm) in sludge, including the abundance, type, size, and morphology, before and after vermicomposting by epigeic earthworms under different temperature conditions (15 °C, 20 °C and 25 °C) were investigated by micro Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (µ-FTIR) and Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM). More abundant (over 104 particles ∙kg-1 (dry weight)), and smaller microplastics (over 60% in total with 0.05-0.5 mm) in the treated sludge via earthworms were observed compared to the raw sludge. The increment of vermicomposting temperature was more obvious (p < 0.05) for the enrichment of the microplastics, especially for polyethylene particle. Gizzard grinding and microbial digestion in the gut of earthworms may contribute to the fragment of microplastics. The present study suggests that the sludge-sourced vermicompost is still an important hotspot of microplastics, posing a potential threat to the receiving environments.

A neglected transport of plastic debris to cities from farmland in remote arid regions.

Although microplastics have been investigated in terrestrial environments, the occurrence and transport of microplastics in semiarid regions with serious wind erosion are still limited. We investigated plastic debris, including macroplastics (>5 mm) and microplastics (50 µm to 5 mm), from twenty semiarid farmlands and then developed a mass flux model to calculate the quantities of plastic debris transport by wind erosion. Finally, the spatial extent of microplastic deposition was estimated. The average abundance of macroplastics increased with duration of mulching film use, whereas the abundance of microplastics did not change significantly (p > 0.05). Moreover, the highest abundance of microplastics among samples was from the farmland using greenhouse, which suggests that wind erosion played an essential role in retention of plastic debris. Besides, the enrichment ratio (ER) which depends on the shape of microplastics is identified to be a key indicator of the mass flux model. The results showed that 6.91-38.11 kg/ha of plastic debris was released by wind in the 25th year after film application, with 6.14 n/m2 of microplastics settling in February in Xi'an, which is 690 km away from the source.

Leaching behaviour of bisphenol A from municipal solid waste under landfill environment.

With a preliminary insight into the source and leaching behaviour ofbisphenol A (BPA) from municipal solid wastes (MSW), five kinds of plastic and four kinds of paper materials were leached by distilled water. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) waste was found to have the highest BPA content of 12.1 microg x g(-1) and leachability of 34.7% in distilled water, while cardboard with relatively low BPA content also showed a high ratio of leaching (53.6%). Fresh leachate and leachates from a landfill of age 1.5 and 10 years were adopted as leachants for the PVC plastic and cardboard to simulate the leaching behaviour of BPA under a landfill environment. The enhancement of BPA leachability in the 10-year leachate compared with distilled water was higher than that in the other two leachates due to its basic pH and high content of humic organic matters. Meanwhile, the enhancement of BPA leachability by the fresh leachate was higher than that by the 1.5-year leachate, possibly due to the presence of small molecules such as volatile fatty acids, amino acids, etc. The paper waste was not only a minor origin of BPA leaching, but also a controlling factor in retarding BPA transformation. The BPA sorption K(f) value of the cardboard in the Freundlich equation was 0.2224 mg(1-n)) x L(n) x g(-1) (n = 0.7680), higher than that obtained in sorption experiments by natural organic adsorbents such as sediment. It suggested that the presence of paper with a high sorption capacity in MSW will restrain BPA transport and bioavailability in landfills.

Three-dimensional excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy and gel-permeating chromatography to characterize extracellular polymeric substances in aerobic granulation.

Three-dimensional excitation emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy and gel-permeating chromatography (GPC) were employed to characterize the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in aerobic granulation. EPS matrix in this study was stratified into four fractions: (1) supernatant, (2) slime, (3) loosely bound EPS (LB-EPS), and (4) tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS). The results showed that the dissolved organic carbon was mainly distributed in TB-EPS fraction, and increased with increasing the operating time. The supernatant, slime, and LB-EPS fractions exhibited four fluorescence peaks, an autochthonous signature, unimodal MW distribution and lower molecular weight (MW) (3 < log [MW]<5), whereas the TB-EPS fraction only had two peaks, an allochthonous signature, multiple peaks and higher MW (5 < log [MW]<7). It was deemed that the formation of aerobic granules was correlated with the accumulation of proteins in the TB-EPS fraction. EEM spectroscopy and GPC profiles could be used as appropriate and effective methods to characterize the EPS in aerobic granulation from a micro-view level.

Effects of ultrasonic pretreatment on sludge dewaterability and extracellular polymeric substances distribution in mesophilic anaerobic digestion.

Effect of ultrasonic pretreatment on sludge dewaterability was determined and the fate of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) matrix in mesophilic anaerobic digestion after ultrasonic pretreatment was studied. Characteristics of proteins (PN), polysaccharides (PS), excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular weight (MW) distribution of dissolved organic matters (DOM) in different EPS fractions were evaluated. The results showed that after ultrasonic pretreatment, the normalized capillary suction time (CST) decreased from 44.4 to 11.1 (sec x L)/g total suspended solids (TSS) during anaerobic digestion, indicating that sludge dewaterability was greatly improved. The normalized CST was significantly correlated with PN concentration (R2 = 0.92, p < 0.01) and the PN/PS ratio (R2 = 0.84, p < 0.01) in the loosely bound EPS (LB-EPS) fraction. Meanwhile, the average MW of DOM in the LB-EPS and tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS) fractions also had a good correlation with the normalized CST (R2 > 0.66, p < 0.01). According to EEM fluorescence spectroscopy, tryptophan-like substances intensities in the slime, LB-EPS and TB-EPS fractions were correlated with the normalized CST. The organic matters in the EPS matrix played an important role in influencing sludge dewaterability.

Quantifying the contributions of surface area and redox-active moieties to electron exchange capacities of biochar.

Redox properties play a critical part in enabling biochar to participate in geochemical redox cycles. To manufacture biochar with targeted redox properties, it is essential to define the correlation of redox properties with the structure and moieties of biochar. However, previous studies focused on moieties, while structural parameters were overlooked. Furthermore, most publications used a single-factor analysis for certain types of moieties with other moieties possibly ignored. Herein, four kinds of representative biomass components, cellulose, lignin, casein, and starch, were pyrolyzed at low, intermediate, and high temperatures to obtain biochar with distinct structures and moieties. Then, the partial least-squares modeling was implemented to evaluate the quantitative contributions of structure and moieties to redox properties with the results obtained by characterizing the biochar. In addition to redox-active moieties, specific surface area was also found to be critical to the redox properties. The cellulose-derived chars exhibited better electron-donating capacities, while the lignin-derived chars exhibited better electron-accepting capacities. The starch-derived chars pyrolyzed at 700℃ possessed both high electron-donating and electron-accepting capacities. The casein-derived biochar exhibited weak redox capacities. These findings show the importance of structural influences on the redox properties and provide feedstock choices when applying and producing biochar with targeted redox properties.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill: A source of microplastics? -Evidence of microplastics in landfill leachate.

Although landfill is suspected to be releasing microplastics to the environment, there is few empirical researches carried out. To clarify suspicions of landfills as potential sources of microplastics, twelve leachate samples from four active and two closed municipal solid waste landfills were investigated. Microplastics were found in all the landfill leachate samples. In total, seventeen different types of plastics were identified in the leachate samples with calculated concentration ranging from 0.42 to 24.58 items/L. Polyethylene and polypropylene were the predominant polymer types. 99.36% microplastics were derived from the fragmentation of plastic waste buried in landfills. The size of 77.48% microplastics was between 100 and 1000 µm. The study shows that the generation, accumulation and release of microplastic in landfills is a long-term process. The results of our study provide preliminary evidence and validate that landfill isn't the final sink of plastics, but a potential source of microplastics.

Dissolved organic matter and estrogenic potential of landfill leachate.

The estrogenic potentials of leachate samples collected at Laogang Sanitary Landfill in Shanghai, China were measured together with the associated dissolved organic matter (DOM) in leachate samples. Over 99% of the DOM in fresh leachate was removed upon 3-7 years of landfill, leaving only DOM with strong fluorescent activity. Anoxic or aerobic treatment of landfill leachate can further degrade DOM of MW<300 Da and transform those with fluorescent activity of MW>10(5) Da to those of 2000-10(5) Da. Neither landfilling nor storage in anoxic pond effectively removed estrogenic potential of leachate. Fractionation test revealed that residual organic matters of MW 3000-14000 Da and of <600 Da with high UV254 contributed most of the estrogenic activities in leachate. Aerobic SBR treatment considerably reduced the estrogenic potential of these organic matters in leachate.

Morphological characteristics of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) dechlorination during pyrolysis process: Influence of PVC content and heating rate.

In this research morphological techniques were used to characterize dechlorination process of PVC when it is in the mixed waste plastics and the two important factors influencing this process, namely, the proportion of PVC in the mixed plastics and heating rate adopted in the pyrolysis process were investigated. During the pyrolysis process for the mixed plastics containing PVC, the morphologic characteristics describing PVC dechlorination behaviors were obtained with help of a high-speed infrared camera and image processing tools. At the same time emission of hydrogen chloride (HCl) was detected to find out the start and termination of HCl release. The PVC contents in the mixed plastics varied from 0% to 12% in mass and the heating rate for PVC was changed from 10 to 60°C/min. The morphologic parameters including "bubble ratio" (BR) and "pixel area" (PA) were found to have obvious features matching with PVC dechlorination process therefore can be used to characterize dechlorination of PVC alone and in the mixed plastics. It has been also found that shape of HCl emission curve is independent of PVC proportions in the mixed plastics, but shifts to right side with elevated heating rate; and all of which can be quantitatively reflected in morphologic parameters vs. temperature curves.

Effect of fillers on key characteristics of sludge thermophilic anaerobic digestion.

In anaerobic digestion (AD) of sludge, AD efficiency and digested sludge (DS) dewaterability are critical factors. In this study, polyester non-woven fabric fillers were integrated into a sludge digester. The effect of such fillers on digestion was investigated in thermophilic temperature range in semi-continuous mode. Methane production of filler system and control reactor were significantly different (P < 0.05, paired t-test). At hydraulic retention times of 18 days and 12 days, the corresponding methane yields from filler system were 140% and 161%, respectively, of the yields from control digester without filler. Improvement of DS dewaterability was uncertain during 110 days of operation. While after a longer period of digestion, filler system resulted in a lower normalized capillary suction time of DS (76.5 ± 21.6 s L/g total suspended solids) than control reactor (118.7 ± 32.9 s L/g total suspended solids). The results showed that the filler could improve thermophilic AD performance, except at too short hydraulic retention times.

Evaluation of monitoring indicators for the post-closure care of a landfill for MSW characterized with low lignin content.

To understand the applicability of the termination indicators for landfill municipal solid waste (MSW) with low initial lignin content, four different accelerated landfill stabilization techniques were applied to anaerobic landfilled waste, including anaerobic flushing with water, anaerobic flushing with Fenton-treated leachate, and aerobic flushing with Fenton-treated and UV/H2O2-treated leachate. Termination indicators, including total organic carbon (TOC), ammonia-N (NH4(+)-N), the ratio of UV absorbance at 254 nm to TOC concentration (SUVA254), fluorescence spectra of leachate, methane production, oxygen consumption, lignocellulose content, and humus-like content were evaluated. Results suggest that oxygen consumption related indicators used as a termination indicator for low-lignin-content MSW were more sensitive than methane consumption related indicators. Aeration increased humic acid (HA) and (HA+FA)/HyI content by 2.9 and 1.7 times compared to the anaerobically stabilized low-lignin-content MSW. On the other hand, both the fulvic acid (FA) and hydrophilic (HyI) fractions remained constant regardless of stabilization technique. The target value developed for low-lignin-content MSW was quite different than developed countries mainly due to low residual biodegradable organic carbon content in stabilized low-lignin-content MSW.

Rapid detection of colored and colorless macro- and micro-plastics in complex environment via near-infrared spectroscopy and machine learning.

To better understand the migration behavior of plastic fragments in the environment, development of rapid non-destructive methods for in-situ identification and characterization of plastic fragments is necessary. However, most of the studies had focused only on colored plastic fragments, ignoring colorless plastic fragments and the effects of different environmental media (backgrounds), thus underestimating their abundance. To address this issue, the present study used near-infrared spectroscopy to compare the identification of colored and colorless plastic fragments based on partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), extreme gradient boost, support vector machine and random forest classifier. The effects of polymer color, type, thickness, and background on the plastic fragments classification were evaluated. PLS-DA presented the best and most stable outcome, with higher robustness and lower misclassification rate. All models frequently misinterpreted colorless plastic fragments and its background when the fragment thickness was less than 0.1mm. A two-stage modeling method, which first distinguishes the plastic types and then identifies colorless plastic fragments that had been misclassified as background, was proposed. The method presented an accuracy higher than 99% in different backgrounds. In summary, this study developed a novel method for rapid and synchronous identification of colored and colorless plastic fragments under complex environmental backgrounds.

Digestion and dewatering characteristics of waste activated sludge treated by an anaerobic biofilm system.

Immobilization of microorganisms for sludge anaerobic digestion was investigated in this study. The effects of filler properties on anaerobic digestion and dewaterability of waste activated sludge were assessed at mesophilic temperature in batch mode. The results showed that the duration of the methanogenic stage of reactors without filler, with only filler, and with pre-incubated filler was 39days, 19days and 13days, respectively, during which time the protein was degraded by 45.0%, 29.4% and 30.0%, and the corresponding methane yield was 193.9, 107.2 and 108.2mL/g volatile suspended solids added, respectively. On day 39, the final protein degradation efficiency of the three reactors was 45.0%, 40.9% and 42.0%, respectively. The results of normalized capillary suction time and specific resistance to filtration suggested that the reactor incorporating pre-incubated filler could improve the dewaterability of digested sludge, while the effect of the reactor incorporating only filler on sludge dewaterability was uncertain.

Thermochemical reaction mechanism of lead oxide with poly(vinyl chloride) in waste thermal treatment.

Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) as a widely used plastic that can promote the volatilization of heavy metals during the thermal treatment of solid waste, thus leading to environmental problems of heavy metal contamination. In this study, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) coupled with differential scanning calorimeter, TGA coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and lab-scale tube furnace experiments were carried out with standard PVC and PbO to explicate the thermochemical reaction mechanism of PVC with semi-volatile lead. The results showed that PVC lost weight from 225 to 230°C under both air and nitrogen with an endothermic peak, and HCl and benzene release were also detected. When PbO was present, HCl that decomposed from PVC instantly reacted with PbO via an exothermal gas-solid reaction. The product was solid-state PbCl2 at <501°C, which was the most volatile lead-containing compound with a low melting point and high vapor pressure. At >501°C, PbCl2 melted, volatilized and transferred into flue gas or condensed into fly ash. Almost all PbCl2 volatilized above 900°C, while PbO just started to volatilize slowly at this temperature. Therefore, the chlorination effect of PVC on lead was apt to lower-temperature and rapid. Without oxygen, Pb2O was generated due to the deoxidizing by carbon, with oxygen, the amount of residual Pb in the bottom ash was significantly decreased.