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Microplastics in plastic bottle recycling and textile manufacturing wastewater: characterization and removal using ultrafiltration membranes
Summary
Recycling plastic bottles and manufacturing textiles releases huge amounts of tiny plastic particles into wastewater—thousands per liter—which could eventually make their way into our water supply and environment if not filtered out properly. The good news: this study found that special filtering membranes can effectively strip out these microplastics, offering a practical way to keep them from spreading further, though the filters still need regular cleaning since oily/organic gunk clogs them faster than the plastic bits do.
The rapid growth of plastic industry has raised an intensive concern over microplastic pollution. Among various sources, plastic bottle recycling and textile manufacturing industries are emerging as the significant contributors but often overlooked in the existing research. This study aims to identify microplastics produced from both industries and evaluate their interaction with sodium alginate as model organic foulant using polyethersulfone (PES) and regenerated cellulose (RC) membranes. Microplastics were detected in the wastewater from plastic bottle recycling (2427 ± 110 microplastics/L) and textile manufacturing (967 ± 42 microplastics/L), predominantly within the 10–25 μm size range. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics were the most dominant type in plastic bottle recycling wastewater, with being the most prevalent shape. Meanwhile, rayon microplastics were mainly detected in the textile wastewater with fiber as the dominant shape. Both PES and RC membranes achieved excellent removal of PET and rayon microplastics. Besides, fouling effects of microplastics and organic foulants (sodium alginate as model extracellular polymeric substances) were simulated. Organic foulant resulted in a significant flux reduction (41–64%) compared to microplastics (8–25%), indicating greater fouling from organic matter. The combination of both microplastics and organic foulant further intensified the fouling effect. In addition, PET microplastics exhibited a greater flux reduction than rayon microplastics, likely due to their fragment shape, which tends to form denser fouling layers and clog the pores. Overall, both PES and RC membranes demonstrated good performance for PET and rayon microplastics in lab as well as real wastewater.