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Targeting nanoplastic and microplastic in wastewater
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Researchers established a novel correlation between nanoplastic removal and total suspended solids (TSS) reduction during aggregation-based wastewater treatment, successfully predicting nanoplastic removal across a wide range of polymer types, sizes, surface functionalisations, and ageing histories under 41 different treatment conditions. The work addresses a key methodological gap in monitoring nanosized plastic pollutants in wastewater effluent streams.
With growing concerns over plastic accumulation in the environment, it is imperative to quantify nanoplastic and microplastic release to water bodies via water treatment plant effluent streams. Current methodological limitations present a major challenge for continuous monitoring of nanosized pollutants in effluent streams. In this work, a novel correlation was established between removal of nanoplastics and total suspended solids (TSS) during aggregation-based wastewater treatment. The established correlation successfully predicted nanoplastic removal for a wide range of relevant nanoplastic properties, including polymer type, size, surface functionalization and ageing history, under 41 different physico-chemical and activated sludge treatment conditions (R2 = 0.92; n = 117). The results of our correlation reveal a predicted nanoplastic removal between 39% and 69% for typical water treatment effluent streams governed by current TSS regulations in North America. The study also reveals the potential of using TSS as a simple metric to estimate microfibre, microsphere and microfragment removal.
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Targeting nanoplastic and microplastic removal in treated wastewater with a simple indicator
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Researchers established a reliable method to predict how well wastewater treatment plants remove nanoplastics by correlating their removal with total suspended solids, a standard easy-to-measure metric. The study estimates current treatment plants remove only 39–69% of nanoplastics, meaning a substantial fraction escapes into rivers and drinking water sources.
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Researchers modeled how nanoplastic particles from degraded plastic waste aggregate in wastewater under different conditions. Understanding aggregation behavior is key to predicting how nanoplastics move through water treatment systems and ultimately whether they reach drinking water sources.
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Using metal-tagged nanoplastics and microplastic fibers in a pilot wastewater treatment plant, researchers found that at least 98% of plastic particles were retained in the biosolids during steady-state operation, with the rest correlated with suspended solids in the effluent. The study demonstrates that managing total suspended solids is likely a good proxy for managing plastic removal in full-scale systems.
Micro- and nanoplastics removal from water and solid matrices: Technologies, challenges, and future perspectives
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Researchers reviewed a decade of research on micro- and nanoplastic removal technologies across water and solid matrices, finding that conventional water treatment achieves over 80% microplastic removal but transfers most particles to sludge rather than degrading them, while advanced oxidation processes show strong degradation potential under controlled but not yet real-world conditions.
Micro (nano) plastics in wastewater: A critical review on toxicity risk assessment, behaviour, environmental impact and challenges
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Researchers reviewed the sources, detection methods, toxicity, environmental fate, and wastewater treatment options for micro- and nanoplastics, finding that nanoplastics are especially persistent and toxic due to their large surface area and ability to carry co-pollutants, and identifying key research gaps in quantification, degradation mechanisms, and sensor development.
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