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The life cycle of micro-nano plastics in domestic sewage

The Science of The Total Environment 2021 49 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Yue Zhang, Yinghua Li, Fei Su, Linlin Peng, Deze Liu

Summary

This review examined the sources, transport, and fate of micro- and nanoplastics throughout domestic sewage systems and wastewater treatment plants, finding that while treatment plants remove a significant fraction, they also serve as both sources and sinks that redistribute plastic pollution to water, soil, and atmospheric environments.

Study Type Environmental

As a kind of novel pollutant, microplastics and nanoplastics have been commonly found in all regions of the world and have attracted widespread attention in recent years. Wastewater treatment plants are considered an important "source" and "sink" of micro-nano plastics pollution, so it is significant to study its transportation and fate in wastewater plants. This review summarizes the types and sources of micro-nano plastics in domestic wastewater and compares their removal efficiency and migration in different treatment processes in wastewater plants. The interlinkages and ecological risks among surface water, soil and atmospheric environments are also analyzed, providing a reference for future research on the impact of wastewater treatment plants on micro-nano plastics pollution.

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