Beneath the surface of our ecosystems, microplastics (MPs) silently loom as a significant threat. These minuscule pollutants, invisible to the naked eye, wreak havoc on living organisms and disrupt the delicate balance of our environment. As we delve into a trove of data and reports, a troubling narrative unfolds: MPs pose a grave risk to both health and food chains with their diverse compositions and chemical characteristics....

The upgrading of organic waste such as food waste (FW) into medium-chain carboxylates (MCC) is within a bio-based circular economy concept. An efficient chain elongation (CE) microbiome is difficult to obtain, which normally requires long-term acclimatization and an exogenous supplement of electron donor (ED, especially ethanol). In this study, the CE microbiome was rapidly shaped within 18 days and an efficient endogenous ethanol-based...

This study explored the potential application of plasma coupling ionic liquid on disintegration of waste activated sludge and enhanced production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in anaerobic fermentation. Under optimal conditions (dosage of ionic liquid [Emim]OTf = 0.1 g/g VSS (volatile suspended solids) and discharge power of dielectric barrier discharge plasma (DBD) = 75.2 W), the [Emim]OTf/DBD pretreatment increased SCFA...