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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Tracking and risk assessment of microplastics in a wastewater treatment plant
ClearResearch progress on microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: A holistic review
This review provides a holistic assessment of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants, covering sampling methods, occurrence patterns across treatment stages, removal efficiencies, and the environmental risks posed by microplastic discharge through effluent and sludge.
Transport and fate of microplastic particles in wastewater treatment plants
Researchers tracked microplastic particles through multiple stages of a wastewater treatment plant, finding that particles were concentrated in sludge but that a fraction passed through each treatment stage and remained in the final effluent.
Improved methodology to determine the fate and transport of microplastics in a secondary wastewater treatment plant
An improved methodology was applied to track the fate and transport of microplastics through a wastewater treatment plant, measuring particle size, shape, and polymer type at multiple treatment stages. The study found that while most microplastics are removed during primary and secondary treatment, smaller particles persist into the effluent and sludge.
Understanding microplastic presence in different wastewater treatment processes: Removal efficiency and source identification
Researchers tracked microplastic removal across different treatment stages at two wastewater treatment plants and found overall removal rates of 90% and 97%. They discovered that population density in the served area was a bigger driver of influent microplastic levels than sewage volume, and that activated sludge served as the primary trap for captured particles. The study identified laundry washing and daily consumer products as the main sources of microplastics entering the treatment plants.
Microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: Sources, properties, removal efficiency, removal mechanisms, and interactions with pollutants
This review examines microplastic sources, properties, removal efficiency, and removal mechanisms across different wastewater treatment plant stages. Researchers found that while treatment plants remove a significant portion of microplastics, they cannot eliminate them entirely, resulting in the continued release of millions of particles into the environment daily through effluent and sludge.
Recent advances on microplastics pollution and removal from wastewater systems: A critical review
This review summarizes the latest research on microplastic detection, occurrence, and removal in wastewater treatment plants. While treatment plants can remove 57-99% of microplastics depending on the stage, significant amounts still escape into the environment through treated water and sludge. The findings highlight the need for advanced treatment methods to prevent microplastics from reaching waterways and ultimately human water supplies.
Fate of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants and their environmental dispersion with effluent and sludge
Researchers tracked microplastics through a wastewater treatment plant and found 12 different polymer types in effluents and sludge, with smaller particles (25–104 μm) most abundant and fibres displaying lower sizes than fragments. The study demonstrates that WWTPs do not fully remove microplastics and that processed sludge marketed as soil amendment carries plastic contamination.
Tracing the fate of microplastic in wastewater treatment plant: A multi-stage analysis of treatment units and sludge
Researchers tracked microplastics through every stage of a wastewater treatment plant and found that while treatment removes many particles from the water, most end up concentrated in the leftover sludge. Fibers and fragments were the most common shapes, made primarily of polyester and polyethylene. Since treated sludge is often spread on farmland, this creates a pathway for microplastics to enter soil and potentially the food chain.
Fate of Microplastic Pollution Along the Water and Sludge Lines in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants
Researchers evaluated microplastic abundance and distribution across three municipal wastewater treatment plants using different treatment technologies. The study found that all three plants achieved greater than 97% microplastic removal along the water treatment line, with microplastics concentrating in the sludge fraction, underscoring the important role of sludge treatment in sequestering microplastics from wastewater.
The fate of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: An overview of source and remediation technologies
This review examines how wastewater treatment plants serve as key pathways for microplastic entry into the environment, analyzing removal efficiencies across different treatment stages and identifying advanced technologies for improved microplastic remediation.
The fate of microplastics in an Italian Wastewater Treatment Plant
Microplastics were tracked through influent, settler, and effluent stages of a major northern Italian WWTP (serving 1.2 million population equivalents), finding high removal efficiency but continued discharge of fibers and fragments to receiving water and concentration of retained plastics in sludge. The study provides detailed mass flow data for an Italian WWTP and highlights sludge as the dominant plastic-retention compartment.
Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Characteristics, Occurrence and Removal Technologies
This review summarizes how wastewater treatment plants are a major pathway for microplastics entering the environment, covering the types, sizes, and sources of microplastics found in wastewater. While treatment plants can remove many microplastics, significant amounts still escape into rivers and oceans through treated water and sludge. The authors evaluate various removal technologies and recommend advanced treatment methods to better prevent microplastics from reaching water supplies.
Influence of wastewater treatment process on pollution characteristics and fate of microplastics
Researchers investigated microplastic abundance and removal efficiency across four wastewater treatment plants using different treatment technologies, finding influent concentrations between 539 and 1,290 particles per liter that were reduced substantially by primary and secondary treatment. Smaller microplastic particles proved hardest to remove and most likely to persist in final effluent.
Particle balance and return loops for microplastics in a tertiary-level wastewater treatment plant
Researchers tracked microplastics through 12 process steps in a tertiary-level wastewater treatment plant in Finland, finding that sludge treatment return loops represent a significant and underappreciated pathway for microplastics re-entering the water stream. The particle balance approach revealed that sludge processing stages deserve as much research attention as primary and secondary water treatment.
Fate and occurrence of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants
This review summarizes recent research on the abundance and removal of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants, examining how different treatment stages capture or release microplastic particles and assessing the overall efficiency of current infrastructure.
Microplastic contamination in a conventional wastewater treatment plant in Thailand
Microplastic contamination was investigated throughout a conventional urban wastewater treatment plant in Thailand, tracking particles through influent, treatment stages, and effluent. The study quantified how treatment processes reduced but did not eliminate microplastic discharge into receiving water bodies.
Characteristics and removal efficiency of microplastics in sewage treatment plant of Xi'an City, northwest China
Researchers systematically tracked microplastic transport, characteristics, and removal through both the sewage and sludge treatment streams of a Chinese wastewater treatment plant. The study found that while most microplastics were removed from effluent, substantial quantities accumulated in sludge.
Microplastics in real wastewater treatment schemes: Comparative assessment and relevant inhibition effects on anaerobic processes
Researchers studied the occurrence and removal of microplastics through different stages of a wastewater treatment plant in Central Italy. They found that while treatment processes removed a substantial portion of incoming microplastics, significant numbers still passed into the effluent, and microplastics also inhibited anaerobic digestion processes used for sludge treatment. The study highlights that wastewater treatment plants are both important barriers against and inadvertent sources of microplastic pollution in receiving waters.
Where do they go? A review of the wastewater treatment process and its impact on the fate of microplastics
This review examines the fate of microplastics across the physical, chemical, and biological stages of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) processes, finding that WWTPs act as both sources and destinations for microplastics while not being designed to remove them, and surveying new removal strategies.
Microplastics removal in wastewater treatment plants: a critical review
This critical review of microplastic removal in wastewater treatment plants examines removal efficiencies across different treatment stages, finding that while WWTPs remove the majority of microplastics from influent, they still release millions of particles daily and are a major pathway for microplastics entering aquatic environments.
Circulation of microplastics in a municipal wastewater treatment plant with multiphase activated sludge
Researchers tracked the circulation of microplastics through a municipal wastewater treatment plant, from raw wastewater through sludge processing. They found that most microplastics accumulated in sewage sludge at high concentrations, and that leachate from sludge treatment recycled microplastics back into the treatment process. The study highlights how wastewater treatment plants can inadvertently redistribute microplastics rather than fully removing them from the waste stream.
Long-Term Occurrence and Fate of Microplastics in WWTPs: A Case Study in Southwest Europe
A long-term monitoring study of a wastewater treatment plant in southwest Europe tracked microplastic concentrations across all treatment stages over multiple sampling campaigns, finding consistent plastic removal in the range of 90% but with treated effluent and sludge still containing substantial amounts. The study demonstrates the value of repeated sampling for understanding seasonal and operational variability in microplastic fate at WWTPs.
Microplastics removal through water treatment plants: Its feasibility, efficiency, future prospects and enhancement by proper waste management
Researchers reviewed over 80 studies on water treatment plant performance and found microplastic removal ranges widely — from 16% in basic primary treatment up to near 100% with advanced membrane systems — but a major flaw is that removed microplastics concentrate in sludge, which can re-enter the environment. The review recommends optimizing coagulants and sludge treatment to prevent microplastics from simply being relocated rather than eliminated.
A review of the removal of microplastics in global wastewater treatment plants: Characteristics and mechanisms
This review analyzed data from 38 wastewater treatment plants across 11 countries to understand how effectively they remove microplastics. While treatment plants can remove the majority of microplastics from wastewater, significant quantities still pass through into waterways, and the microplastics captured in sewage sludge may re-enter the environment when that sludge is applied to farmland.