National Reconnaissance Survey of Microplastics in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants in Korea

National Reconnaissance Survey of Microplastics in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants in Korea

Large quantities of microplastics are thought to be emitted to freshwater environments via wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). To evaluate the occurrence of microplastics in Korean WWTPs, a nationwide study was conducted for the first time in 50 representative WWTPs with large treatment capacities....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology Vol. 54; no. 3; pp. 1503 - 1512
Main Authors: Park, Hee-Jin, Oh, Min-Ju, Kim, Pil-Gon, Kim, Gwonbo, Jeong, Dong-Hwan, Ju, Byoung-Kyu, Lee, Won-Seok, Chung, Hyen-Mi, Kang, Hyun-Joong, Kwon, Jung-Hwan
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States American Chemical Society 04-02-2020
Subjects:
Effluents
Environmental Monitoring
Filtration
Fourier transforms
Freshwater environments
Influents
Infrared analysis
Infrared spectroscopy
Microplastics
Municipal wastewater
Peroxidation
Phosphorus
Phosphorus removal
Plastic pollution
Plastics
Republic of Korea
Sampling
Surveys and Questionnaires
Synthetic fibers
Thermoplastic resins
Waste Disposal, Fluid
Waste Water
Wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment plants
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Water treatment
Republic of Korea
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Summary:Large quantities of microplastics are thought to be emitted to freshwater environments via wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). To evaluate the occurrence of microplastics in Korean WWTPs, a nationwide study was conducted for the first time in 50 representative WWTPs with large treatment capacities. Grab sampling and laboratory filtration were used for influents, whereas in situ filtration using a custom-made sampling device was used for effluents. The filtrates were pretreated using wet peroxidation and density separation prior to the identification of microplastics with a dissection microscope and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Pooled analyses of the microplastics revealed that they were predominantly fragment-shaped, and thermoplastics and synthetic fibers were the dominant microplastic materials in WWTPs. The concentration ranged from 10 to 470 L–1 in influents and 0.004 to 0.51 L–1 in effluents. The removal efficiency of microplastics during wastewater treatment was calculated to be 98.7–99.99% in 31 WWTPs. Additionally, WWTPs using advanced phosphorus removal processes exhibited higher removal efficiency than those not implementing such processes. Power-law distribution was successful in describing microplastic particle sizes down to 100 μm, although it was not applicable for smaller particles. This comprehensive monitoring study provides information on the current level and characteristics of microplastics in WWTPs in Korea.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.9b04929