Occurrence and fate of microplastics from a water source to two different drinking water treatment plants in a megacity in eastern China

Abstract

The widespread presence of microplastics (MPs) contamination in drinking water has raised concerns regarding water safety and public health. In this study, a micro-Raman spectrometer was used to trace the occurrence of MP transport from a water source to a drinking water treatment plant (DWTP)1 with an advanced treatment process and DWTP2 with a conventional treatment process and the contributions of different processes to the risk reduction of MPs were explored. Six types of MPs were detected: polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyamide, and polyvinyl chloride. 2–5 μm (35.8–41.2%) and polyethylene terephthalate (27.1–29.9%) were the most frequently detected MP sizes and types of water source samples, respectively. The abundance of MPs in treated water decreased by 72.7–83.0% compared to raw water. Ozonation and granular activated carbon (52.7%), and sand filtration (47.5%) were the most effective processes for removing MPs from DWTP1 and DWTP2, respectively. Both DWTPs showed significant removal effects on polyethylene terephthalate, with 80.0–88.1% removal rates. The concentrations of polystyrene increase by 30.0–53.4% after chlorination. The dominant components in the treated water of DWTP1 and DWTP2 were polypropylene (24.7%) and polyethylene 27.7%, respectively, and MPs of 2–5 μm had the highest proportion (55.3–64.3%). Pollution load index and potential ecological risk index of raw water treated by DWTPs were reduced by 48.0–58.7% and 94.5–94.7%, respectively. The estimated daily intake of MPs in treated water for infants was 45.5–75.0 items/kg/d, respectively, approximately twice that of adults. This study contributes to the knowledge gap regarding MP pollution in drinking water systems.