Occurrence and Characteristics of Microplastics in a Wastewater Treatment Plant

Zhang, Yunhai; Wang, Hao; Xu, Jimin; Su, Xin; Lu, Meichi; Wang, Zhiyuan; Zhang, Yongjun

doi:10.1007/s00128-021-03142-6

Published: 22 February 2021

Occurrence and Characteristics of Microplastics in a Wastewater Treatment Plant

Yunhai Zhang¹,
Hao Wang¹,
Jimin Xu¹,
Xin Su¹,
Meichi Lu¹,
Zhiyuan Wang¹ &
Yongjun Zhang ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5562-9090¹

Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology volume 107, pages 677–683 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Large quantities of microplastics (MPs) are discharged into the hydrosphere via the municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) as an important route. Herein, we sampled the influent, effluent and sludge of WWTP in order to investigate the abundance, size, type, and shape of MPs. The detected MPs were primarily in the shape of fiber with the abundance up to 44 particles per liter. Polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, and polyethylene were found to be the three largest types of MPs. MPs in the influent was effectively eliminated with a removal efficiency of ~ 96%. However, a large quantity of MPs was still discharged in the effluent and the excess sludge, approximately 2.87 × 10⁸ particles per day, indicating that some specific control facilities should be installed at WWTP to minimize the environmental impacts of MPs.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51808284), Natural Science Research of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China (Grant No. 18KJB610008), National College Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program (Grant No. 201810291051Z) and Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. KYCX20-1106).

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School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, No. 30 Puzhu Road(S), Nanjing, 211816, China
Yunhai Zhang, Hao Wang, Jimin Xu, Xin Su, Meichi Lu, Zhiyuan Wang & Yongjun Zhang

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Yunhai Zhang
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Hao Wang
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Jimin Xu
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Xin Su
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Meichi Lu
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Zhiyuan Wang
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Yongjun Zhang
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Correspondence to Yongjun Zhang.

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Zhang, Y., Wang, H., Xu, J. et al. Occurrence and Characteristics of Microplastics in a Wastewater Treatment Plant. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 107, 677–683 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-021-03142-6

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Received: 18 August 2020
Accepted: 01 February 2021
Published: 22 February 2021
Issue Date: October 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-021-03142-6

Keywords

Emerging contaminant
Sewage
Plastics
PET
PP
PE