{
  "abstract": "The increasing occurrence of microplastics and antibiotics in wastewater poses emerging challenges for biological treatment processes. Microalgal-bacterial granular sludge (MBGS) has emerged as an efficient algae-based biotechnology for wastewater treatment; however, its response to simultaneous exposure to these contaminants remains largely unexplored. Here, the effects of degradable polycaprolactone microplastics (PCL MPs) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) were evaluated at 1 mg/L during granulation and long-term operation. PCL alone caused only minor changes, whereas SMX impaired granule stability and reactor performance. Under combined PCL + SMX exposure, the strongest deterioration was observed, including a 5.2% decrease in ammonium nitrogen (NH 4 + -N) removal and a 48.9% decrease in phosphate removal relative to the control. Effluent nitrite nitrogen (NO 2 − -N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO 3 − -N) concentrations increased to 8.9 and 31.6 mg/L, respectively, under combined stress. These changes were accompanied by lower microbial activities, with the specific nitrate reduction rate (SNRR) and specific phosphorus uptake rate (SPUR) decreasing to 31.6 mg N/g mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (MLVSS) and 10.3 mg P/g MLVSS, respectively. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) analysis further showed depletion of tightly bound proteins. Microbial analysis revealed community restructuring under SMX-containing conditions (R3 and R4), including enrichment of Nakamurella (up to 36.5% in R3) and Micropruina (up to 18.9%), alongside a decline in polyphosphate-accumulating genera such as Microlunatus . Overall, MBGS showed resilience to PCL alone, whereas SMX (especially in combination with PCL) induced significant structural and functional instability.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Institute of Animal Science and Wildlife Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Szeged, Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary; Department of Applied and Environmental Chemistry, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary. Electronic address: kedvesalfonz@chem.u-szeged.hu",
    "Department of Applied and Environmental Chemistry, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary",
    "Department of Applied and Environmental Chemistry, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary; HUN-REN-SZTE Reaction Kinetics and Surface Chemistry Research Group, Szeged, Hungary"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Alfonz Kedves",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-6885-9001"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Máté Balogh",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-8702-6557"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jamsheed Abbas Dar",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-3823-5273"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Ilia Mehrizi",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-5502-6660"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Zoltán Kónya",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9406-8596"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ejbbw7cg5rm5c.bib",
  "cited_by": 26,
  "doi": "10.1016/j.biortech.2026.134820",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "ejbbw7cg5rm5c",
  "issns": [
    "0960-8524",
    "1873-2976"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2026.134820",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2310|Wastewater Treatment and Nitrogen Removal"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7160697585",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": "42114572",
  "published": "2026-05-09",
  "publisher": "Elsevier BV",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ejbbw7cg5rm5c.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:26:58Z",
      "native_id": "W7160697585",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2026.134820"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "openalex:2310|Wastewater Treatment and Nitrogen Removal",
      "subfield": "environmental-science"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Granulation and stability of microalgal–bacterial granular sludge under single and combined exposure to polycaprolactone microplastics and sulfamethoxazole",
  "title_text": "Granulation and stability of microalgal–bacterial granular sludge under single and combined exposure to polycaprolactone microplastics and sulfamethoxazole",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-05T13:21:10Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ejbbw7cg5rm5c",
  "venue": "Bioresource Technology",
  "versions": []
}