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Study of the Effect of Microplastics on the Generation of Chlorinated Disinfection Byproducts of Ciprofloxacin
Summary
Researchers investigated how polypropylene, polyethylene, and polystyrene microplastics affect the formation of chlorinated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) when the antibiotic ciprofloxacin is chlorinated during water treatment, finding that microplastics had minimal effect on overall DBP generation. The study clarifies that while microplastics co-occur with antibiotics in treated water, they do not substantially amplify the formation of toxic chlorinated byproducts during disinfection — an important finding for drinking water safety assessment.
With the increased use of microplastics and antibiotics in modern society, a large number of microplastics and antibiotics are being found in natural and water treatment systems. In this paper, the effect of polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and polystyrene (PS) microplastics (MPs) on the chlorination of ciprofloxacin (CIP) and subsequent production of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) was investigated using sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) as the disinfectant and trichloromethane (CHCl3) and dichloroacetonitrile (DCAN) as typical carbon- and nitrogen-containing disinfection byproducts. Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) were investigated. The results showed that the mass concentrations of CHCl3 and DCAN generated after CIP chlorination were higher, reaching 160.1 μg/L and 2.5 μg/L, respectively, than those generated after the chlorination of microplastics (0.49~41 μg/L). Considering the effect of microplastics on the chlorination of ciprofloxacin to generate disinfection byproducts, it was found that the increase in the production of CHCl3 and DCAN was not significant and that production even tended to decrease. There was a slight contribution to the generation of CHCl3 with increasing microplastic concentration. There was almost no effect on DCAN, and the generation of DCAN was even inhibited. Increases in pH, NaClO dose, and chlorination time promoted the generation of CHCl3, but DCAN showed a decreasing trend due to its instability and easy decomposition. This study provides a theoretical basis for understanding the generation of disinfection byproducts in water sources contaminated by microplastics and antibiotics.