Jianwei Liu

Food waste (FW) is a significant renewable resource because of its high organic content and superior biodegradability. It can be effectively converted into clean energy (like methane) using anaerobic digestion technology. However, the pervasiveness of microplastics (MPs) in FW, which comes from plastic items like food packaging and throwaway tableware, not only degrades the FW's physical and chemical characteristics but also has the potential to impair the stability and effectiveness of anaerobic digestion by changing the digestion environment and microbial metabolic processes. In this paper, the occurrence characteristics and migration behavior of MPs in FW are systematically reviewed, along with the dynamic effects of the physical and chemical properties of MPs (e.g., type, particle size and concentration) on the performance of methane production, the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), and the stability of the system during anaerobic processes. Additionally, it concentrates on examining how MPs impede activity via processes such as chemical leaching, enzyme activity interference, reactive oxygen species (ROS) induction and disruption of the microbial population. The objective of this study is to guide the effective resource exploitation of polluted organic solid waste and to theoretically support improving the tolerance of FW digestion processes to MPs stress.

Microplastic-phase interfaces (MPPIs) were established as critical vectors for accelerating antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) dissemination. Through integrated anaerobic/aerobic wastewater treatment system experiments combined with physicochemical characterization, metagenomic sequencing, and molecular dynamics simulations (MD), we elucidated MP-ARG interaction mechanisms from the interfacial to the cellular scale. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), and polypropylene (PP) MPPIs underwent significant aging during 60 days of exposure, resulting in elemental enrichment (C/O/P), the formation of C═C/C-H/C-O/C-OH functional groups, and elevated oxidation. These transformations enhanced extracellular polymeric substance production (184.81 mg/g MLSS) and selectively enriched antibiotic-resistant bacteria, ARGs, and mobile genetic elements (MGEs), promoting horizontal gene transfer. XDLVO theory revealed spontaneous microbial adhesion (ΔG_adh = -23.63 mJ/m²) driven by Lifshitz-van der Waals (LW) and acid-base interactions. MD demonstrated direct MP penetration into the membrane via dominant LW forces (-1200 kJ/mol) and increased permeability. Concurrently, compared with sewage water (SW), MPPIs induced a 2.06-fold overproduction of reactive oxygen species, which upregulated genes encoding efflux pumps (acrF, 3.2-fold), outer membrane porins (OmpF, 4.1-fold), and conjugative transfer genes (traF, 3.8-fold). Material-specific (PET > PE > PP) and oxygen-driven redox mechanisms governed ARG dissemination: aerobic conditions favored radical-driven oxidation and MGE entrapment, whereas anaerobic systems enhanced hydrophobic adhesion.

Widespread antibiotic residues in aquatic environments pose escalating threats to ecological stability and human health, highlighting the urgent demand for effective remediation strategies. In recent years, photocatalytic technology based on advanced nanomaterials has emerged as a sustainable and efficient strategy for antibiotic degradation, enabling the effective utilization of solar energy for environmental remediation. This review provides an in-depth discussion of six representative categories of photocatalytic nanomaterials that have demonstrated remarkable performance in antibiotic degradation, including metal oxide-based systems with defect engineering and hollow architectures, bismuth-based semiconductors with narrow band gaps and heterojunction designs, silver-based plasmonic composites with enhanced light harvesting, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) featuring tunable porosity and hybrid interfaces, carbon-based materials such as g-C₃N₄ and biochar that facilitate charge transfer and adsorption, and emerging MXene–semiconductor hybrids exhibiting exceptional conductivity and interfacial activity. The photocatalytic performance of these nanomaterials is compared in terms of degradation efficiency, recyclability, and visible-light response to evaluate their suitability for antibiotic degradation. Beyond parent compound removal, we emphasize transformation products, mineralization, and post-treatment toxicity evolution as critical metrics for assessing true detoxification and environmental risk. In addition, the incorporation of artificial intelligence into photocatalyst design, mechanistic modeling, and process optimization is highlighted as a promising direction for accelerating material innovation and advancing toward scalable, safe, and sustainable photocatalytic applications.