Transport of Nano- and Microplastic through Unsaturated Porous Media from Sewage Sludge Application

Wastewater treatment plants have been identified as important hubs for small particulate plastic, down to the nanometer scale, from urban areas to the environment. The reuse of sludge as fertilizer in agricultural practices can lead to accumulation of plastic in the soil. In this study, nanoplastic particles and microplastic fibers were synthesized with a passive inorganic tracer to aid in faster and more quantitative analysis using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Using the anaerobic digestate of a pilot wastewater treatment plant spiked with metal-doped plastic, the excess sludge was dewatered, ensuring realistic associations between sludge and plastic. The resulting sludge cake was affixed atop an unsaturated porous-medium column of glass beads to assess: (i) the release of particulate plastic from the sludge, and (ii) the accumulation and mobility of plastic and organic matter through the column (analogous to a soil). A total of three particulate plastic treatments were assessed, in triplicate, where the plastic and mobile organic fractions were monitored for 14 pore water volumes. Due to size-limited transport, low deattachment from the sludge and reduced mobility through the column were found for microplastic fibers (>95% retention). However, cotransport between the mobile organic fraction and nanoplastic particles was observed, with 50% of both retained in the column. These results contribute to the understanding of the fate of particulate plastics and to assessing the associated environmental risks of particle mobility and percolation, particularly for nanoplastics.