(173s) Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment Facilities: Fate and Transport in the Cookeville Wastewater Treatment Plant and Literature Review

Microplastics (MPs) are considered as plastic particles less than 5 mm in size, and like other anthropogenic contaminants, they originate from a variety of land-based sources and eventually find their way into municipal wastewater treatment plants. These facilities are widely described as a link between pollutants and natural environments (Turan et. al 2021). More than 80% of MPs enter the ocean from land, primarily from terrestrial activities such as fishing, aquaculture, and coastal tourism, while less than 20% come from the sea, demonstrating their ability to travel far due to their light weight, durability, and buoyancy (Yee et. al 2021). MP particles are able to put both mankind and the environment in danger. Several studies have shown that micro- and nanoplastics are harmful to human health, causing inflammation, oxidative stress, and immune responses. Emphasizing how larger polystyrene particles have been shown to cause inflammatory effects in lung cells, whereas unaltered or carboxylated polystyrene nanoparticles can up-regulate inflammatory genes in various cell types (Yee et al. 2021).

Acknowledging this, our modern lives have been heavily impacted by MP pollution as these particles have merged into many places that negatively affect our everyday lives. For example, MPs have been found in oceans, rivers, protected areas, food, drinking water, and almost every conceivable environment. Furthermore, several types of MP particles are usually found in wastewater treatment plant facilities as they typically originate from materials that are designed and largely utilized for commercial and household use, including textiles, detergents, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, packaging, etc. These particles are generally invisible to the human eye, which is why typically special equipment like microscopes and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy are used as methods to identify and characterize them (Karami et al. 2022).

As indicated, water and wastewater treatment plants are major pathways for MP particle’s introduction into the environment. However, the understanding of the efficiency of these plants related to the retention and eventual elimination of MP pollution is an area of critical need for the potential improvement of decontamination methods (Cristaldi et al. 2020). In present study, that is part of a Distinction in the Major research certificate (Abumariam, 2023), a combination of literature review and research focused on exploring methods that are used for the characterization and quantification of MPs from wastewater treatment plants is employed and reported. Furthermore, we describe other aspects of this issue including, making a comparison between the quantity of MP found in each respective study in addition to the types of the different treatment methods previously implemented. In order to investigate these aspects, in the present study, samples from different units of Cookeville’s Wastewater Treatment Plant have been taken to be analyzed so that the presence of MP particles can be studied. Experimental procedures were followed based on previous studies (Karami et al. 2022) to isolate possible MP particles from the samples taken and characterize them using both microscope and FTIR techniques for increasing our qualitative knowledge. This research was complemented by a quantitative analysis that contributes to the understanding of how the different units of the Cookeville, TN, WWTP plant is performing with respect to the retention of the MP before discharging the treated effluent into a local creek. Finally, the results of aforementioned experiments are discussed as well as other possible new techniques that could be implemented to enhance future studies’ efficiency will be presented.

Refences

1. Turan, N. B., Erkan, H. S., & Engin, G. O. (2021). Microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: Occurrence, fate and identification. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 146, 77-84.
2. Yee, M. S. L., Hii, L. W., Looi, C. K., Lim, W. M., Wong, S. F., Kok, Y. Y., ... & Leong, C. O. (2021). Impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on human health. Nanomaterials, 11(2), 496.
3. Karami, S., Rashidi, R., Arce, Pedro, A.E., Saraei, N., “Understanding the Transport and Fate of the Microplastic Particles in a Main Wastewater Treatment Plant: Case Study of a Typical Plant in Western Iran”.
4. Karami, S., Rashidi, R., Arce, Pedro, A.E., Saraei, N., “Understanding the Transport and Fate of the Microplastic Particles in a Main Wastewater Treatment Plant: Case Study of a Typical Plant in Western Iran”.
5. Cristaldi, Antonio et al. “Efficiency of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) for Microplastic Removal: A Systematic Review.” International journal of environmental research and public health 17,21 8014. 30 Oct. 2020, doi:10.3390/ijerph17218014
6. Kiran, Boda Ravi et al. “Micro/nano-plastics occurrence, identification, risk analysis and mitigation: challenges and perspectives.” Re/views in environmental science and bio/technology vol. 21,1 (2022): 169-203. doi:10.1007/s11157-021-09609-6