We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Treatment technologies for the removal of micro plastics from aqueous medium
Summary
Researchers reviewed treatment technologies for removing microplastics from water, finding that while multiple methods including filtration, membrane processes, and coagulation show promise, their effectiveness depends on microplastic size, type, and concentration.
The presence of plastic materials in a water stream is a serious environmental concern because of their poor degradability characteristics. The enormous rise in the production of the plastics causes a significant amount of plastic waste on the land entering water bodies. If the particle size is small at the micro level (less than 5 mm in diameter), it has significant potential for blocking the fine pores of filtration and membrane systems. Microplastics (MPs) have stability and longer residence time in water bodies. The ability of the MPs to adsorb other toxic pollutants present in the aquatic environment can also cause dangerous diseases to human and aquatic life. Generally, MPs are categorized into primary and second micro pollutants. Primary MPs are microplastics that generate directly from manufactured plastics and secondary MPs are those fragmented from large plastic particles. There still exists an ambiguity regarding the behavioral aspects and movement of MPs in water streams. This unknown characteristic of MPs is a major concern of pollution in water bodies. This chapter deals with advanced technologies for the removal of micro plastics such as membrane bioreactors (MBR), ultrafiltration, combination of coagulation-flocculation, dynamic membrane technology, dissolved air floatation, bio filtration, etc. It also presents the advantages and disadvantages in the commercialization aspects of the advanced technologies implemented for the removal of microplastics from aqueous systems.