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Release of microplastic particles to the aquatic environment via wastewater treatment plants: The impact of sand filters as tertiary treatment
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Effects of Sand Filters in Wastewater Treatment Plants on Microplastic Output
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Sand filters in wastewater treatment plants reduced the mass of microplastics in effluent but increased the count of smaller particles, suggesting filtration fragments larger pieces rather than eliminating microplastics entirely. This finding indicates that conventional sand filtration is insufficient for microplastic removal and may inadvertently increase the release of smaller, potentially more bioavailable particles into freshwater streams.
Release of Microplastics to the Environment Through Wastewater Treatment Plants: Study on Four Types of Wastewater Treatment Processes
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A study of six wastewater treatment plants in Iran found that all processes reduced microplastic concentrations but still released tens of thousands to hundreds of millions of particles daily, with the activated sludge process achieving the best removal efficiency of 91.87% while smallest particles (25–125 µm) consistently escaped treatment. This demonstrates that even the most effective conventional wastewater treatment cannot prevent significant microplastic discharge into receiving environments.
Transport and fate of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: implications to environmental health
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Researchers reviewed how wastewater treatment plants act as pathways for microplastics entering terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, finding that treated effluents carry both microplastic particles and associated chemical and biological contaminants into the broader environment.
Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Occurrence, Fate and Mitigation Strategies
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Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are major conduits for microplastics into the environment, yet even advanced treatment systems fail to fully remove the smallest particles before discharge. Understanding microplastic fate across treatment stages is essential for developing targeted mitigation strategies that reduce the tonnage of plastic particles entering rivers, soils, and ultimately the food supply.
Fate of microplastics in urban wastewater treatment plants and their contribution to the receiving river via effluent discharge
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Monitoring of five wastewater treatment plants in Guangzhou, China found 97–99% microplastic removal efficiency, yet effluents still discharged up to 4.5 billion microplastic particles per day into receiving rivers, while removed particles concentrated in sludge applied to agricultural land. This dual pathway — aquatic discharge and land application of sludge — makes wastewater treatment plants a major conduit for microplastics entering both freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems.
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