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What have we known so far about microplastics in drinking water treatment? A timely review

Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering 2021 68 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 55 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Jinkai Xue Seyed Hesam‐Aldin Samaei, Jinkai Xue Jinkai Xue Seyed Hesam‐Aldin Samaei, Seyed Hesam‐Aldin Samaei, Seyed Hesam‐Aldin Samaei, Seyed Hesam‐Aldin Samaei, Seyed Hesam‐Aldin Samaei, Seyed Hesam‐Aldin Samaei, Jianfei Chen, Seyed Hesam‐Aldin Samaei, Jinkai Xue Jianfei Chen, Jinkai Xue Kelvin Tsun Wai Ng, Jianfei Chen, Ariana Doucet, Ariana Doucet, Jinkai Xue Jinkai Xue Jinkai Xue Jianfei Chen, Jianfei Chen, Jianfei Chen, Jianfei Chen, Kelvin Tsun Wai Ng, Kelvin Tsun Wai Ng, Jinkai Xue Jinkai Xue

Summary

This review summarizes research on microplastic occurrence and removal in drinking water treatment, covering both laboratory and full-scale studies through August 2021. Researchers found that conventional treatment processes like coagulation-flocculation, membrane filtration, and sand filtration are generally effective at reducing microplastics in water, though results vary widely depending on conditions. The study identifies key factors influencing removal efficiency and highlights the need for further research on nanoplastics in drinking water.

Study Type Environmental

Microplastics (MPs) have been widely detected in drinking water sources and tap water, raising the concern of the effectiveness of drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) in protecting the public from exposure to MPs through drinking water. We collected and analyzed the available research articles up to August 2021 on MPs in drinking water treatment (DWT), including laboratory- and full-scale studies. This article summarizes the major MP compositions (materials, sizes, shapes, and concentrations) in drinking water sources, and critically reviews the removal efficiency and impacts of MPs in various drinking water treatment processes. The discussed drinking water treatment processes include coagulation-flocculation (CF), membrane filtration, sand filtration, and granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration. Current DWT processes that are purposed for particle removal are generally effective in reducing MPs in water. Various influential factors to MP removal are discussed, such as coagulant type and dose, MP material, shape and size, and water quality. It is anticipated that better MP removal can be achieved by optimizing the treatment conditions. Moreover, the article framed the major challenges and future research directions on MPs and nanoplastics (NPs) in DWT.

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