The Effect of Wastewater Treatment Plants on Retainment of Plastic Microparticles to Enhance Water Quality—A Review

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.

Trends of microplastic abundance in personal care products in the United Arab Emirates over the period of 3 years (2018–2020)

“…Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) possess certain sizes of filtering screens that act as a barrier for the microparticles. Also, the size influences the settling behavior of microparticles in settling tanks, e.g., before and after activated sludge treatment (Habib et al 2020b , 2021 ). Usually, smaller-size particles have a higher chance to pass through WWTPs and enter the effluents.…”

Abundance and Characterization of Anthropogenic Microlitter in Effluent from Three Wastewater Treatment Plants in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain)

“…Recent publications and reviews have reported highly variable concentrations of MPs in effluent sampled from WWTPs [21,27,30,[51][52][53]. A large proportion of the variability and discrepancies observed in these studies can be attributed to the diverse composition of raw wastewater (WW), variations in sampling techniques, isolation and detection methods, and differences in the lower size range considered when isolating and identifying MPs.…”

“…Meanwhile, household WW content, including litter, is influenced by people's lifestyles, customs, awareness, and the proper use of the sanitation network. Key contributors to microlitter from urban and household sources include fiber losses from textiles during domestic laundering [22][23][24]; microbeads utilized in cosmetics and personal care products like toothpaste, facial cleansers, and body washes [25]; rubber particles produced through the abrasion of tires and carried by stormwater runoff [26,27]; and leachates from landfills [28].…”

Identification and Quantification of Microplastics in Effluents of Wastewater Treatment Plant by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)

“…[10,11]; most of these are made from polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). Polystyrene (PS) products are often used for the manufacture of disposables, such as insulators and food packaging [12,13]; polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is commonly used for the manufacture of containers and packaging in general, among others [14][15][16][17][18]. All such products can be converted into microplastics.…”