Distribution, characteristics and daily fluctuations of microplastics throughout wastewater treatment plants with mixed domestic–industrial influents in Wuxi City, China

doi:10.1007/s11783-021-1440-4

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2022, Vol. 16

Issue (1) : 6 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-021-1440-4

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Distribution, characteristics and daily fluctuations of microplastics throughout wastewater treatment plants with mixed domestic–industrial influents in Wuxi City, China

Wei Shan¹, Bingbing Li¹(

), Haichuan Zhang¹, Zhenghao Zhang¹, Yan Wang^1,⁵, Zhiyang Gao⁶, Ji Li^1,^2,^3,⁴(

)

¹. School of Environment and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
². Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anaerobic Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
³. Jiangsu College of Water Treatment Technology and Material Collaborative Innovation Centre, Suzhou 215009, China
⁴. Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory for Biomass Energy and Carbon Reduction Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
⁵. Wuxi Puhui Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., Wuxi 214122, China
⁶. Wuxi Hi-Tech Water Co., Ltd., Wuxi 214028, China

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Abstract

• MPs were analyzed throughout three WWTPs with mixed domestic–industrial influents.

• White polyethylene granules from plastic manufacturing were the most dominant MPs.

• MPs abundance in random grab-sampling was lower than that in daily dense sampling.

• The production of MPs such as microbeads need to be restricted from the source.

In wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), microplastics (MPs) are complex, especially with mixed domestic–industrial influents. Conventional random grab sampling can roughly depict the distribution and characteristics of MPs but can not accurately reflect their daily fluctuations. In this study, the concentration, shape, polymer type, size, and color of MPs were analyzed by micro-Raman spectroscopy (detection limit of 0.05 mm) throughout treatment stages of three mixed domestic–industrial WWTPs (W1, W2, and W3) in Wuxi City, China, and the daily fluctuations of MPs were also obtained by dense grab sampling within 24 h. For influent samples, the average MP concentration of 392.2 items/L in W1 with 10% industrial wastewater was much higher than those in W2 (71.2 items/L with 10% industrial wastewater) and W3 (38.3 items/L with 60% industrial wastewater). White polyethylene granules with a diameter less than 0.5 mm from plastic manufacturing were the most dominant MPs in the influent of W1, proving the key role of industrial sources in MPs pollution. In addition, the daily dense sampling results showed that MP concentration in W1 influent fluctuated widely between 29.1 items/L and 4617.6 items/L within a day. Finally, few MPs (less than 4.0 items/L) in these WWTPs effluents were attributed to the effective removal of wastewater treatment processes. Thus, further attention should be paid to regulating the primary sources of MPs.

Keywords Microplastic Wastewater treatment plant Mixed domestic-industrial influent Characteristic Daily fluctuation

Corresponding Author(s): Bingbing Li,Ji Li

Issue Date: 29 October 2021

Cite this article:

Wei Shan,Bingbing Li,Haichuan Zhang, et al. Distribution, characteristics and daily fluctuations of microplastics throughout wastewater treatment plants with mixed domestic–industrial influents in Wuxi City, China[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2022, 16(1): 6.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-021-1440-4
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2022/V16/I1/6

Fig.1 Sampling points of the three mixed industrial–domestic WWTPs in Wuxi City, China. The same geometrical shape represents the same treatment process.

Tab.1 Overview of the three WWTPs in Wuxi City, China

Tab.2 The average abundance of MPs throughout the three WWTPs by irregular grab-sampling during the summer of 2020

Fig.2 Relative abundances of typical MP types (a) and size percentage distribution (b) in the influents and effluents of the three WWTPs. Here, “inf” and “eff” represent influent and effluent, respectively.

Fig.3 Colors of MPs in the influents (a) and effluents (b) of the three WWTPs. Each color represents the color of MPs. Inner ring, middle ring, and outer ring indicate W1, W2, and W3, respectively.

Fig.4 Concentration, type, and size distributions of MPs in the influent of W1 during 24 h.

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