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Microplastics in sewage sludge: Captured but released?
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This book chapter examines how wastewater treatment plants capture microplastics from sewage but then concentrate them into sludge, which may subsequently be spread on agricultural land. The chapter highlights how treating wastewater can shift — rather than eliminate — microplastic contamination, moving it from water systems into terrestrial environments.
The book covers in detail the topic of microplastics in water and wastewater. There is a growing interest in the scientific community in microplastics. Most of the studies identified the problems due to microplastics in the marine environment. However, considering that most microplastics are produced on land, similar problems should be encountered in freshwater systems and wastewater treatment plants that at the same time are the sources of marine microplastics. The human water cycle and points where the microplastics could interact with water will be presented as the introductory chapter. The subsequent chapters will examine evidence of the microplastics presence in freshwater such as both rivers and lakes and also, hazardous chemicals associated with microplastics in such systems. The following chapters will discuss the presence of microplastics in wastewater, their sources, their transfer through a wastewater treatment plant, their concentration in effluents throughout the world, and their distribution and effects on the surrounding environment of effluent wastewater pipes. Further chapters will discuss the sampling methods, the sample treatment and analysis techniques used so far for identifying microplastics in wastewater. Additionally, the presence of microplastics in sewage sludge and in soils irrigated with wastewater or fertilized with sludge, as well as the possible effects on plants and human health will be discussed. A concluding chapter will discuss the necessity for plastics strategies.In this second edition, a Study Guide is developed to be closely aligned with the content of the original text. Each study guide section includes the title of the relevant chapter, its aims, the expected learning outcomes, key concepts, a study plan, additional literature, and a set of self-assessment exercises and activities. Indicative answers to the self-assessment exercises and activities are provided at the end of the study guide.ISBN: 9781789061680 (paperback)ISBN: 9781789061697 (eBook)ISBN: 9781789061703 (ePub)
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Microplastics in sewage sludge: Captured but released?
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This book chapter reviews how wastewater treatment plants capture microplastics from sewage but then release them back into the environment through the application of sewage sludge to agricultural land. Treating sewage sludge as a microplastic disposal route transfers the pollution problem from water to soil.
Microplastics removal in wastewater treatment plants: A review of the different approaches to limit their release in the environment
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This review examines how wastewater treatment plants handle microplastics, finding that while some plants remove up to 99% of microplastics from water, they concentrate the removed plastics in sewage sludge. When that sludge is spread on farmland as fertilizer, over 65% of the captured microplastics can re-enter the environment and potentially contaminate crops and groundwater. The authors argue that treatment plants should be reimagined as key barriers against microplastic pollution, with targeted technologies added at strategic points in the treatment process.
Sewage sludge as a source of microplastics in the environment: A review of occurrence and fate during sludge treatment
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This review assessed how wastewater treatment plants concentrate microplastics from influent into sludge, estimating that sewage sludge applied to agricultural land represents a major secondary pathway for MPs entering terrestrial ecosystems, with estimated releases of millions to billions of particles per hectare.
Microplastics in Sewage Sludge: A Known but Underrated Pathway in Wastewater Treatment Plants
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This review finds that wastewater treatment plants effectively transfer microplastics from effluent into sewage sludge, creating a significant but underrated pathway for MP contamination when sludge is applied to agricultural soils.
Approaching the environmental problem of microplastics: Importance of WWTP treatments
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This review examines the role of wastewater treatment plants as sources and sinks of microplastics, noting that while treatment removes significant quantities, remaining particles concentrate in sewage sludge which is then applied to agricultural land as fertilizer. The authors survey available technologies for improving microplastic removal and call for better policy to address this gap.
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