Study of the mechanism of polystyrene nanoplastics on methane production microbial communities in anaerobic digestion of food waste

Food waste combined with waste activated sludge for anaerobic digestion (AD) to produce methane is an environmentally friendly and economically viable waste treatment solution. However, it is susceptible to the influence of emerging pollutants, such as nanoplastics (NPs), which can lead to a decrease in AD efficiency or even collapse. This study focuses on the full-scale anaerobic digestion of food waste (ADFW) in a completely mixed system and investigates the response mechanisms of microbial communities during the inhibition phase and the recovery phase of methane production under the stress of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs). Additionally, changes in methane production pathways are explored, and high-efficiency methane producing microbial agents for ADFW systems are developed.