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Pervasiveness and classification of microplastics in Landfill Leachate: Impacts, risks, and treatment efficiency
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Researchers assessed microplastic contamination from the Matuail landfill in Bangladesh, finding that leachate discharged approximately 350 million particles per hour into surrounding water. Surface water and groundwater near the landfill contained even higher microplastic concentrations than the leachate itself, with fibers and fragments of polyethylene and polypropylene dominating. The study found that the existing leachate treatment facility was inefficient at removing microplastics, posing high ecological risk to surrounding water sources.
• The Matuail treatment facility is inefficient to remove MPs. • MPs content is dominated by fiber of 0.1-0.5mm and transparent color. • MPs concentration in surface and groundwater was more than leachate. • Among nine different polymers, LDPE was the most common. • The landfill leachate contributes MPs release to the surrounding surface and ground water. • Ecological risk is high due to the release of MPs. Microplastics (MPs) in surface and groundwater in Bangladesh are a significant issue. The purpose of this research was to assess the possibility of landfill leachate acting as a potential origin of MPs and to determine if the surrounding surface water (SW) and groundwater (GW) act as recipients. Furthermore, this research assessed the leachate treatment plant MP removal efficacy and MP risk assessment. The findings show that discharge leachate from the Matuail landfill contributes 3.5 × 10 8 particles per hour to the surrounding aquatic environment, with an average of 350 ±10 MPs/L. MPs was found highly in SW and then in GW with an average of 1683 ± 70 and 614 ± 40 MPs/L, respectively, with 48.9% of MPs ranged from 0.1mm to 0.5mm. The dominant shapes were fibers and fragments. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed low density polyethylene (LDPE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), and Polypropylene (PP) was the most common, and Polyurethane (PUR), Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) posed the greatest threat to the environment. The inefficient treatment method resulted in the release of 83.33% of MPs, indicating a low removal efficiency in the leachate. The inefficient removal rate leads to the highest pollutant load index for surface water (2.18). Ultimately, the analysis of the nemerow pollution index (NPI), contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), polymer hazard index (PHI), and potential ecological risk (Ei), revealed a minimal to extremely high range of contaminations. A clear link was obsevered between the particles shape and size throught the principal component analysis (PCA). Moreover, it highlights the need for ongoing national surveillance of MPs considering the gravity of this contamination and indicates the importance of proactive management of landfill sites.
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