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Rapid sand filtration for <10 μm-sized microplastic removal in tap water treatment: Efficiency and adsorption mechanisms
Summary
Researchers tested a sand filtration system for removing very small microplastics (under 10 micrometers) from tap water and achieved a 98% removal rate. The sand captured microplastics through a combination of physical trapping and chemical bonding, and backwashing successfully regenerated the filter by removing 97% of captured particles. This is a promising finding because most existing water treatment technologies struggle to capture the smallest microplastics, which are the ones most likely to be absorbed by the human body.
The omnipresence of microplastics (MPs) in potable water has become a major concern due to their potential disruptive effect on human health. Therefore, the effective removal of MPs in drinking water is essential for life preservation. In this study, tap water containing microplastic <10 μm in size was treated using constructed pilot-scale rapid sand filtration (RSF) system to investigate the removal efficiency and the mechanisms involved. The results show that the RSF provides significant capacity for the removal and immobilization of MPs < 10 μm diameter (achieving 98 %). Results showed that silicate sand reacted with MPs through a cooperative assembly process, which mainly involved interception, trapping, entanglement, and adsorption. The MPs were quantified by Flow cytometry instrument. A kinetics study underlined the pivotal role of physio-chemisorption in the removal process. MP particles smaller than absorbents, saturation of adsorbents, and reactor hydrodynamics were identified as limiting factors, which were alleviated by backwashing. Backwashing promoted the desorption of up to 97 % MPs, conducive for adsorbent active site regeneration. These findings revealed the critical role of RSF and the importance of backwashing in removing MPs. Understanding the mechanisms involved in removing microplastics from drinking water is crucial in developing more efficient strategies to eliminate them.