Towards microplastics contribution for membrane biofouling and disinfection by-products precursors: The effect on microbes

Public awareness of plastic pollution and its impact on the ecosystem has increased rapidly. The microplastics in raw waters and their removal during drinking water treatment is receiving growing attention, but the impact on the efficiency of ultrafiltration has not been examined previously, especially in regard to the formation potential of disinfection by-products (DBPs-FP) in effluent water. In this study, two bench-scale continuous-flow ultrafiltration systems, with and without microplastics, were operated to examine the effect of microplastics on ultrafiltration. Results showed that the microplastics not only increased microbial growth, but also affected the microbial community (e.g. families Xanthobacteraceae, Sphingomonadaceae, Leptolyngbyaceae), which can promote the production of extracellular polymeric substances and nitrogen fixation, causing rapid membrane fouling. The formation potential of THM (TCM and BDCM) and N-DBP (TCNM) species in UF permeate increased with the presence of microplastics, due to changes in water quality. Statistical analysis indicated that tyrosine-like components (C3), ammonium (NH-N) and tryptophan-like component (C1) can be used as indicators of the DBPs-FP. This study provides new insights into the relationship between microplastics, membrane biofouling and DBPs-FP, and the potential adverse impact of microplastics on drinking water treatment.