A Review of the Current Status of Microplastic Inflow and Treatment Technologies in Water Treatment Plants

Microplastics have become a rising issue in due to its detection in oceans, rivers, and tap water. Although a large number of studies have been conducted on the detection and quantification in various water bodies, the number of research conducted on the removal and treatment of microplastics are still comparatively low. In the current research, the inflow and removal of microplastics were investigated for various drinking water treatment plants around the world. Addition to the investigation of filed research, a survey was also conducted on the current research trend on microplastic removal for different treatment processes in the drinking water treatment plants. This includes the researches conducted on coagulation/flocculation, sedimentation, dissolved air flotation, sand filtration and disinfection processes. The survey indicated mechanisms of microplastic removal in each process followed by the removal characteristics under various conditions. Limitations of current researches were also mentioned, regarding the gap between the laboratory experimental conditions and field conditions of drinking water treatment plants. We hope that the current review will aid in the understanding of current research needs in the field of microplastic removal in drinking water treatment.