We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Identification and quantification of nanoplastics (20–1000 nm) in a drinking water treatment plant using AFM-IR and Pyr-GC/MS
Summary
Researchers developed a method combining atomic force microscopy with infrared spectroscopy and pyrolysis gas chromatography to detect nanoplastics in drinking water treatment plants. The study identified polyethylene and PVC nanoplastics ranging from 20 to 1,000 nanometers and found that while the treatment process removed up to 98% of PE nanoplastics, the ozonation step actually increased nanoplastic concentrations. Evidence indicates that certain water treatment stages may generate rather than remove nanoscale plastic particles.
Nanoplastics, owing to their small particle size, pose a significant threat to creatures, deserving heightened attention. Numerous studies have investigated microplastics pollution and their removal efficiency in drinking water treatment plants, none of which have involved nanoplastics due to lacking a suitable analytical method. This study introduced a feasible method of combing AFM-IR and Pyr-GC/MS to identify and quantify nanoplastics (20-1000 nm) for a preliminary understanding of their fate during drinking water treatment processes. Resolving of chemical functional groups and pyrolysis products from AFM-IR and Pyr-GC/MS data demonstrated the presence of PE and PVC nanoplastics in this drinking water treatment plant. The initial influent abundances of PE and PVC nanoplastics were 0.86 μg/L and 137.31 μg/L, with subsequent increase to 4.49 μg/L and 208.64 μg/L in ozonation contact tank unit. Then a gradual decreasing was observed along water process, achieving 98.4% removal of PE nanoplastics and 44.0% removal of PVC nanoplastics, respectively. Although this drinking water treatment plant has exhibited a certain level of nanoplastics removal efficiency, particular attention should be directed to the oxidation unit, which appears to be a significant source of nanoplastics. This study will lay a foundation for revealing nanoplastics pollution in the environment.