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Contemporary Drift in Emerging Micro(nano)plastics Removal and Upcycling Technologies from Municipal Wastewater Sludge: Strategic Innovations and Prospects
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This review evaluates both conventional and advanced methods for removing microplastics from sewage sludge before it is applied to farmland as fertilizer. Current treatment processes like anaerobic digestion and composting reduce but do not eliminate microplastics, and some methods can actually fragment larger plastics into more numerous smaller pieces. The authors identify emerging technologies and upcycling strategies that could better address this pathway of microplastic contamination in agricultural soils.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Annually, huge amounts of microplastics (MPs) are added to farmlands through sewage sludge (SS)/biosolid applications as a fertilizer. Most research emphasizes the enormity of the problem and demonstrates the fate, impacts, and toxicity of MPs during SS treatment processes and land applications. None has addressed the management strategies. To address the gaps, the current review evaluates the performance analysis of conventional and advanced sludge treatment methods in eliminating MPs from sludge. RECENT FINDINGS: The review uncovers that the occurrence and characteristics of MPs in SS are highly governed by factors such as population density, speed and level of urbanization, citizens' daily habits, and treatment units in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Furthermore, conventional sludge treatment processes are ineffective in eliminating MPs from SS and are accountable for the increased small-sized MPs or micro(nano)plastics (MNPs) along with altered surface morphology facilitating more co-contaminant adsorption. Simultaneously, MPs can influence the operation of these treatment processes depending on their size, type, shape, and concentration. The review reveals that research to develop advanced technology to remove MPs efficiently from SS is still at a nascent stage. SUMMARY: This review provides a comprehensive analysis of MPs in the SS, by corroborating state-of-the-knowledge, on different aspects, including the global occurrence of MPs in WWTP sludge, impacts of different conventional sludge treatment processes on MPs and vice versa, and efficiency of advanced sludge treatment and upcycling technologies to eliminate MPs, which will facilitate the development of mitigation measures from the systematic and holistic level.
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