Role of polylactic acid microplastics during anaerobic co-digestion of cow manure and Chinese cabbage waste enhanced by nanobubble

Abstract

With the increasing use of plastic products globally, environmental pollution by plastic waste is becoming increasingly problematic. This study investigated the impacts of two types of polylactic acid microplastics, clear microplastics and aluminised film microplastics, on methane yield, microbial community, and volatile fatty acid accumulation during anaerobic co-digestion of cow manure and Chinese cabbage waste under different temperature conditions. The influence of the addition of air nanobubbles on microplastic degradation in the anaerobic digestion system we also examined. The results revealed that under thermophilic conditions, clear and aluminised film microplastics increased the methane yield, with the latter resulting in greater improvement. Conversely, under mesophilic conditions, the presence of microplastics reduced the methane yield, but the addition of air-nanobubble partially mitigated this effect. Microplastics also affected the microbial community, with specific species showing correlations with methane yield. Methanothermobacter, which is linked to lactic acid conversion, was positively correlated with methane yield, whereas Methanomassiliicoccus levels increased in the presence of microplastics, particularly in the inhibited state of the digester. These results suggest that, under thermophilic conditions, microplastics may increase the cumulative methane yield by facilitating the degradation of lactic acid monomers. Furthermore, the aluminised film on microplastics could serve as an electrically conductive material during anaerobic digestion, potentially increasing the methane yield.