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Chlorination-driven leaching and characterization of dissolved organic matter from PVC microplastics
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PVC plastic pipes are common in water systems, and this study found that chlorine (the disinfectant used to keep tap water safe) actually breaks down PVC microplastics faster, causing them to release more dissolved carbon-based compounds into the water, especially early on and at higher chlorine levels. This matters because it suggests the very process we use to disinfect drinking water may be speeding up plastic breakdown in pipes, potentially adding more tiny plastic particles and byproducts to the water we drink, though more research is needed to know exactly how this affects human health.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is one of the most widely used plastic polymers in drinking-water distribution systems. Despite its prevalence, the synergistic influence of chlorine disinfectants and environmental stressors on PVC degradation and the chlorination-driven release of dissolved organic matter (DOM) remains poorly quantified. Leaching experiments using PVC-microplastics (PVC-MPs) were conducted in both ultrapure-water and river-water media with various chlorine concentrations under water, thermal, and UV irradiation conditions to characterize chlorine- and leaching condition-dependent shifts in dissolved organic carbon (DOC), chromophoric DOM (CDOM), fluorescence excitation-emission matrices (EEMs), and other surface and optical properties, including size, Zeta-potential, spectral slope (S), specific-UV-absorbance at 254 nm (SUVA₂₅₄), and PARAFAC-derived fluorescent components. Significant morphological alterations on PVC-MPs surfaces were observed under all leaching conditions, demonstrating the susceptibility of PVC to oxidative and photolytic aging. Distinct patterns emerged across leaching conditions: water leaching consistently yielded the highest DOM release in both CDOM and DOC, particularly during early stages, characterized by higher molecular weight and greater aromaticity relative to thermally and UV-induced leaching. Fluorescence EEM spectra were dominated by protein-like and humic-like components, with fluorescence intensities increasing systematically with both chlorine concentration and leaching duration. Higher chlorine levels generally maintained DOM at nano-sizes below 400 nm. By integrating controlled chlorine exposure, multiple environmental stressors, natural water matrices, and advanced optical-fluorescence characterization, this study provides new insights into PVC-MPs degradation pathways and their implications for drinking-water disinfection practices, distribution system performance, and aquatic environmental quality.
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Microplastics generation from PVC pipes in drinking water distribution systems: Effects of aging and flow conditions
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Old PVC pipes in your home's plumbing can shed microplastics into your tap water, and this study found the main culprit is chlorine (used to disinfect water) slowly eating tiny holes into the pipe's inner surface over time. The longer pipes were exposed to chlorine, the more microplastic particles broke off, and running water made things much worse than water just sitting still, releasing nearly 7 times more plastic bits after about 3 months of aging. This matters because it suggests the water infrastructure delivering your drinking water may be a growing, largely invisible source of microplastic exposure as pipes age.
The disinfectant residues promote the leaching of water contaminants from plastic pipe particles
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This study found that trace amounts of disinfectants commonly used in water treatment can accelerate the aging of plastic water pipes, causing them to release more contaminants. When plastic pipe particles were exposed to chlorine-based disinfectants and ozone, they leached higher levels of organic chemicals and microplastics into the water. The findings raise concerns about how the interaction between water treatment chemicals and plastic plumbing may affect drinking water quality.
The fate of microplastics and organic matter leaching behavior during chlorination
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Researchers studied how chlorination affects polystyrene and polyethylene microplastics and the organic matter they release, finding that chlorination promoted organic carbon leaching from microplastics at about 0.3 to 0.5 parts per thousand of the plastic mass. The leached organic matter showed significant potential to form trihalomethane and haloacetonitrile disinfection byproducts, raising concerns about chlorinated microplastics in drinking water systems.
Exploring the co-occurrence of microplastics, DOM and DBPs inside PVC pipes undergoing chlorination by correlation analysis and unsupervised learning
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Researchers exposed PVC drinking water pipes to different chlorine concentrations in a laboratory setup and tracked the co-release of dissolved organic matter, microplastics, and disinfection by-products (DBPs). At higher chlorine doses, both PVC-derived MPs and DOM were released and correlated with DBP formation, while at 1 ppm chlorine, natural organic matter dominated—identifying disinfection as a driver of in-pipe MP generation.
Leaching of organic matters and formation of disinfection by-product as a result of presence of microplastics in natural freshwaters
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Researchers found that microplastics leach dissolved organic carbon into freshwater, and when combined with chlorine disinfection, this leached material promotes the formation of disinfection byproducts like chloroform in drinking water treatment.
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