Abstract
Microplastics, plastic pieces of ≤5 mm in size, are ubiquitous in ther environment and can be found in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This manuscript reviews the literature on the fate of microplastics in wastewater treatment and briefly highlights novel developments in the removal of microplastics from aqueous systems.
Highlights
One year has passed since our first review on microplastics and wastewater treatment plants [1]
The contribution of the different sources of microplastics as found in the wastewater is changing over time, especially with the gradual phase-out of microplastic content in rinse-off cosmetics [22] [23] [24] and the ban in certain regions of plastic bags [25] and single use plastics [26], both potential materials for microplastics due to subsequent degradative fragmentation processes
The current paper aims to review the effect of wastewater treatment plants on MP abundance in treated water dis-charged into the environment with a focus on the retaining ability of different types of wastewater treatment methods
Summary
One year has passed since our first review on microplastics and wastewater treatment plants [1]. One of the most extensive studies on MP in the environment has been forwarded by Eriksen et al [57], where empirical data from 1571 locations taken in the years 2007-2013 has led to the estimation of 5 trillion (5 × 1012) plastic pieces floating on the world’s oceans, amounting to 268,940 tons, with 485 × 1010 particles of less than 5 mm in size. Extensive studies on the MP retaining ability of wastewater treatment plants started in earnest with the work of Browne et al in 2011 [72], with data from the year before. The review takes into account new methodologies to retain MP from aqueous media, developed in laboratories
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