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Beyond Microplastics: Implementation of a Two-Stage Removal Process for Microplastics and Chemical Oxygen Demand in Industrial Wastewater Streams
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Researchers developed and tested a pilot-scale two-stage treatment process for removing microplastics and chemical oxygen demand (COD) from industrial plastic manufacturing wastewater, achieving reductions of 97-98% for microplastics and 94% for COD across eight test phases, preventing an estimated 2.7 tonnes of microplastic emissions per year.
Wastewater from plastic manufacturing or processing industries is often highly polluted with microplastics (MPs) and high levels of oxidizable organic matter, which results in a high chemical oxygen demand (COD). When industrial wastewater enters wastewater streams, the high microplastic load is a high burden for municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), as they are not sufficiently removed. To prevent MP from entering the WWTPs, an upstream prevention method is essential. This paper presents a pilot-scale plant study for the removal of MP and COD from industrial wastewater that was tested on-site at a plastic manufacturer in Germany. Eight test phases were performed over 3 months, with each test phase processing 1 m3 wastewater and four treatments. Per test phase, 12 samples were analyzed for 5 parameters: COD, total suspended solids (TSSs), particle count, pH, and turbidity. The results showed an average decrease in MP by 98.26 ± 2.15% measured by TSSs and 97.92 ± 2.31% measured by particle count. This prevents the emission of 1.1 kg MP/m3 water and an estimated 2.7 t MP/year. The COD was reduced efficiently by 94.3 ± 8.9%. Besides MP and COD, this treatment allows reuse of water and agglomerates, resulting in a reduction in the CO2 footprint.
More Papers Like This
Beyond Microplastics: Implementation of a Two-Stage Removal Process for Microplastics and Chemical Oxygen Demand in Industrial Wastewater Streams
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers developed and tested a pilot-scale two-stage treatment process for removing microplastics and chemical oxygen demand (COD) from industrial plastic manufacturing wastewater, achieving reductions of 97-98% for microplastics and 94% for COD across eight test phases, preventing an estimated 2.7 tonnes of microplastic emissions per year.
Beyond Microplastics: Implementation of a Two-Stage Removal Process for Microplastics and Chemical Oxygen Demand in Industrial Wastewater Streams
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers developed and tested a two-stage pilot-scale treatment process for removing microplastics and chemical oxygen demand from industrial wastewater at a German plastic manufacturer. The system achieved average microplastic removal rates above 98% and reduced chemical oxygen demand by 94%, preventing an estimated 2.7 metric tons of microplastic per year from entering municipal wastewater systems. The study demonstrates that upstream treatment at industrial sources can effectively reduce the microplastic burden on public wastewater infrastructure.
When technology meets sustainability – microplastic removal from industrial wastewater including impact analysis and life cycle assessment
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Researchers conducted an environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a novel pilot plant designed to remove microplastics and chemical oxygen demand (COD) from industrial plastics-processing wastewater, evaluating whether the technology's environmental benefits of microplastic removal outweigh the burdens of operating the treatment system.
Simulation Experiment of Microplastics Removal in Waste Plastic Regeneration Effluent
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Researchers simulated microplastic removal from wastewater generated by waste plastic recycling facilities, which contain much higher microplastic concentrations than domestic sewage. The study evaluated treatment methods and identified effective conditions for reducing microplastic loads in this specialized industrial effluent.
When Technology Meets Sustainability: Microplastic Removal from Industrial Wastewater, Including Impact Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment
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Researchers assessed a novel pilot plant that removes microplastics from industrial wastewater using organosilane-based agglomeration followed by belt filtration, and conducted a life cycle assessment. The system achieved 98% MP removal by mass and 99.9987% by particle count while reducing chemical oxygen demand by 96%, with the life cycle assessment confirming the environmental feasibility of the approach.
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