We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Understanding and characteristics of coagulation removal of composite pollution of microplastic and norfloxacin during water treatment
Summary
The coagulation removal of microplastics and the antibiotic norfloxacin together was studied in a water treatment context, finding that the presence of microplastics altered the coagulation behavior of norfloxacin and that their combined removal was less effective than treating either pollutant alone. The results highlight composite pollution as a challenge for conventional water treatment processes.
Water composite pollution is still a great challenge in the field of water treatment. Especially for microplastic (MP), as an emerging pollutant, its wide distribution in water and persistent eco-environmental influence have received great concerns in recent years. Nevertheless, the removal characteristics and mechanism of conventional coagulation on MP composite pollution is quite insufficient. In this study, the coagulation removal performance and mechanisms of MP (polyethylene, PE) and norfloxacin (NOR) was investigated by polyaluminium chloride (PAC) and anionic polyacrylamide (APAM). Compared with single system, the removal efficiency of PE was significantly improved (>99.0%) under plateau stage in composite system, while the removal efficiency of NOR was slightly decreased to around 42% regardless of the addition of APAM. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), zeta potential and One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) of experimental data were used to explore the coagulation mechanisms. The results demonstrated that the removal of individual PE and NOR was mainly controlled by charge neutralization and sweep flocculation by PAC and APAM, and adsorption by formation of Al-NOR complex, respectively. Importantly, in composite system, the removal of PE was enhanced not only by the stronger charge neutralization but also the adsorption via the formation of PE-NOR-Al complex. Furthermore, the removal efficiency of PE and NOR in neutral and weak alkaline conditions was higher than that in weak acidic or strong alkaline conditions. The presence of metal ions and humic acid had obvious inhibition and promoting effects on the removal efficiency of PE and NOR. This study can provide a new perspective on fundamental understanding in characteristics and mechanisms of MP composite pollutants removed by coagulation.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
Understanding and Improving Microplastic Removal during Water Treatment: Impact of Coagulation and Flocculation
Researchers systematically tested coagulation and flocculation for removing microplastics from drinking water, finding that removal efficiency depended strongly on plastic particle size and whether particles had been weathered, with smaller pristine particles being the hardest to remove.
Sustainable removal of contaminants of emerging concern from wastewater by the living membrane bioreactor: effect of the co-occurrence of microplastics and antibiotics
Researchers investigated a living membrane bioreactor (LMBR) for removing the antibiotic ofloxacin and oxidized polyethylene microplastics from urban wastewater, finding that the biological membrane effectively retained both contaminants of emerging concern and that microplastics acted as antibiotic carriers, with their co-presence influencing overall removal efficiency.
Effects of microplastics accumulation and antibiotics contamination in anaerobic membrane bioreactors for municipal wastewater treatment
This study found that when aged PVC microplastics and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin are both present in wastewater treatment systems, they interact to make each other's harmful effects worse. The combination cut treatment efficiency in half and disrupted the microbes needed for wastewater processing, raising concerns about how microplastic pollution could undermine water treatment that protects public health.
Combined pollution of tetracyclines and microplastics in the aquatic environment: Insights into the occurrence, interaction mechanisms and effects
This review examines how microplastics and tetracycline antibiotics interact in water environments, since microplastics can absorb and carry antibiotics on their surfaces. Factors like pH, heavy metals, and organic matter in water influence how tightly antibiotics bind to microplastics, and the combined pollution is more harmful to aquatic life than either pollutant alone. This is relevant to human health because these microplastic-antibiotic combinations can enter drinking water supplies and promote antibiotic resistance.
Microplastic removal in batch and dynamic coagulation-flocculation-sedimentation systems is controlled by floc size
This study found that microplastic removal during water treatment is strongly controlled by coagulant dosage and operating conditions, with sweep flocculation at higher dosages achieving much better removal than charge-neutralization regimes used at lower dosages.