1. Home
  2. Vol 3, No 1 (2022)
  3. Tang Kuok Ho

Abundance of Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment Sludge

Daniel Tang Kuok Ho

Abstract


Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been regarded as feasible interceptors of microplastics, which have now contaminated all spheres of the environment. The microplastics removed from WWTPs are frequently trapped in the sludge produced. This article aims to examine the abundance of microplastics in the sludge of WWTPs in different regions by reviewing the relevant scholarly papers published between 2016 to 2022. The papers were retrieved from three databases, namely Web of Science, Scopus, and ScienceDirect. WWTPs receive influents containing microplastics whose abundance differs significantly in relation to the population density, urbanization level, and land use of the areas served. Depending on the water treatment strategies and the efficiencies of the WWTPs, a large proportion of the microplastics in the influents is trapped in the sludge, giving a common sludge-to-influent abundance ratio of 0.02 to 0.77, though a ratio of 3.4 has been reported for recycled activated sludge. Sludge treatment affects the final abundance of microplastics therein. However, a relationship between the abundance of microplastics in influents and that in sludge cannot be established. The reutilization of sludge as fertilizer introduces microplastics back into the environment and significantly compromises the potential of WWTPs as interceptors and sinks of microplastics. This review calls for strategies and technologies to reduce, if not remove microplastics in the sludge of WWTPs. It suggests that future research could take this path to optimize the role of WWTPs as sinks of microplastics.

 

Doi: 10.28991/HEF-2022-03-01-010

Full Text: PDF


Keywords


Influents; Microplastics; Population; Sinks; Sludge; Urbanization.

References


Choong, W. S., Hadibarata, T., Yuniarto, A., Tang, K. H. D., Abdullah, F., Syafrudin, M., Al Farraj, D. A., & Al-Mohaimeed, A. M. (2021). Characterization of microplastics in the water and sediment of Baram River estuary, Borneo Island. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 172, 112880. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112880.

Tang, K. H. D. (2020). Ecotoxicological Impacts of Micro and Nanoplastics on Marine. Examines in Marine Biology and Oceanography, 3(2), 1–5. doi:10.31031/EIMBO.2020.03.000563.

Alavian Petroody, S. S., Hashemi, S. H., & van Gestel, C. A. M. (2021). Transport and accumulation of microplastics through wastewater treatment sludge processes. Chemosphere, 278, 130471. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130471.

Ranade, V. V., & Bhandari, V. M. (2014). Industrial Wastewater Treatment, Recycling, and Reuse: Chapter 1 - Industrial Wastewater Treatment, Recycling, and Reuse: An Overview. Butterworth-Heinemann. doi:10.1016/B978-0-08-099968-5.00001-5.

Novotna, K., Cermakova, L., Pivokonska, L., Cajthaml, T., & Pivokonsky, M. (2019). Microplastics in drinking water treatment - Current knowledge and research needs. Science of the Total Environment, 667, 730–740. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.431.

Pal, P. (2017). Industrial Water Treatment Process Technology. In Industrial Water Treatment Process Technology. Butterworth-Heinemann.

Ramalho, R. S. (2013). Introduction to Wastewater Treatment Processes. Water Research, 19(3), 402. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(85)90110-1.

Rao, D. G., Senthilkumar, R., Byrne, J. A., & Feroz, S. (Eds.). (2012). Wastewater Treatment. CRC Press. doi:10.1201/b12172.

Boucher, J., & Billard, G. (2019). the Challenges of Measuring. Field Actions Science Reports. The Journal of Field Actions, 19(19), 68–75.

Tang, K. H. D., & Hadibarata, T. (2021). Microplastics removal through water treatment plants: Its feasibility, efficiency, future prospects and enhancement by proper waste management. Environmental Challenges, 5, 100264. doi:10.1016/j.envc.2021.100264.

Choong, W. S., Hadibarata, T., & Tang, D. K. H. (2021). Abundance and distribution of microplastics in the water and riverbank sediment in Malaysia – A review. Biointerface Research in Applied Chemistry, 11(4), 11700–11712. doi:10.33263/BRIAC114.1170011712.

Mason, S. A., Garneau, D., Sutton, R., Chu, Y., Ehmann, K., Barnes, J., Fink, P., Papazissimos, D., & Rogers, D. L. (2016). Microplastic pollution is widely detected in US municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent. Environmental Pollution, 218, 1045–1054. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.08.056.

Koelmans, A. A., Mohamed Nor, N. H., Hermsen, E., Kooi, M., Mintenig, S. M., & De France, J. (2019). Microplastics in freshwaters and drinking water: Critical review and assessment of data quality. Water Research, 155, 410–422. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2019.02.054.

Sun, J., Dai, X., Wang, Q., van Loosdrecht, M. C. M., & Ni, B. J. (2019). Microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: Detection, occurrence and removal. Water Research, 152, 21–37. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2018.12.050.

Carr, S. A., Liu, J., & Tesoro, A. G. (2016). Transport and fate of microplastic particles in wastewater treatment plants. Water Research, 91, 174–182. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2016.01.002.

Tang, K. H. D. (2020). Effects of Microplastics on Agriculture: A Mini-review. Asian Journal of Environment & Ecology, 13(1), 1–9. doi:10.9734/ajee/2020/v13i130170.

Mahon, A. M., O’Connell, B., Healy, M. G., O’Connor, I., Officer, R., Nash, R., & Morrison, L. (2017). Microplastics in sewage sludge: Effects of treatment. Environmental Science and Technology, 51(2), 810–818. doi:10.1021/acs.est.6b04048.

Rolsky, C., Kelkar, V., Driver, E., & Halden, R. U. (2020). Municipal sewage sludge as a source of microplastics in the environment. Current Opinion in Environmental Science and Health, 14, 16–22. doi:10.1016/j.coesh.2019.12.001.

Tang, K. H. D. (2021). Interactions of Microplastics with Persistent Organic Pollutants and the Ecotoxicological Effects: A Review. Tropical Aquatic and Soil Pollution, 1(1), 24–34. doi:10.53623/tasp.v1i1.11.

Li, X., Chen, L., Mei, Q., Dong, B., Dai, X., Ding, G., & Zeng, E. Y. (2018). Microplastics in sewage sludge from the wastewater treatment plants in China. Water Research, 142, 75–85. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2018.05.034.

Xu, Q., Gao, Y., Xu, L., Shi, W., Wang, F., LeBlanc, G. A., Cui, S., An, L., & Lei, K. (2020). Investigation of the microplastics profile in sludge from China’s largest Water reclamation plant using a feasible isolation device. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 388, 122067. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122067.

Zhang, J., Wang, L., Halden, R. U., & Kannan, K. (2019). Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polycarbonate Microplastics in Sewage Sludge Collected from the United States. Environmental Science and Technology Letters, 6(11), 650–655. doi:10.1021/acs.estlett.9b00601.

Corradini, F., Meza, P., Eguiluz, R., Casado, F., Huerta-Lwanga, E., & Geissen, V. (2019). Evidence of microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils from sewage sludge disposal. Science of the Total Environment, 671, 411–420. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.368.

van den Berg, P., Huerta-Lwanga, E., Corradini, F., & Geissen, V. (2020). Sewage sludge application as a vehicle for microplastics in eastern Spanish agricultural soils. Environmental Pollution, 261, 114198. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114198.

Tang, K. H. D., & Hadibarata, T. (2022). Seagrass Meadows under the Changing Climate: A Review of the Impacts of Climate Stressors. Research in Ecology, 4(1), 27–36.

Tang, K. H. D. (2019). Are we already in a Climate Crisis? Global Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1, 25–32. doi:10.36811/gjcee.2019.110005.

Raju, S., Carbery, M., Kuttykattil, A., Senthirajah, K., Lundmark, A., Rogers, Z., SCB, S., Evans, G., & Palanisami, T. (2020). Improved methodology to determine the fate and transport of microplastics in a secondary wastewater treatment plant. Water Research, 173, 115549. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2020.115549.

Zhang, L., Liu, J., Xie, Y., Zhong, S., & Gao, P. (2021). Occurrence and removal of microplastics from wastewater treatment plants in a typical tourist city in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 291, 125968. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.125968.

Conley, K., Clum, A., Deepe, J., Lane, H., & Beckingham, B. (2019). Wastewater treatment plants as a source of microplastics to an urban estuary: Removal efficiencies and loading per capita over one year. Water Research X, 3, 100030. doi:10.1016/j.wroa.2019.100030.

Talvitie, J., Mikola, A., Setälä, O., Heinonen, M., & Koistinen, A. (2017). How well is microlitter purified from wastewater? – A detailed study on the stepwise removal of microlitter in a tertiary level wastewater treatment plant. Water Research, 109, 164–172. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2016.11.046.

Leslie, H. A., Brandsma, S. H., van Velzen, M. J. M., & Vethaak, A. D. (2017). Microplastics en route: Field measurements in the Dutch river delta and Amsterdam canals, wastewater treatment plants, North Sea sediments and biota. Environment International, 101, 133–142. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2017.01.018.

Gies, E. A., LeNoble, J. L., Noël, M., Etemadifar, A., Bishay, F., Hall, E. R., & Ross, P. S. (2018). Retention of microplastics in a major secondary wastewater treatment plant in Vancouver, Canada. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 133, 553–561. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.06.006.

Lares, M., Ncibi, M. C., Sillanpää, M., & Sillanpää, M. (2018). Occurrence, identification and removal of microplastic particles and fibers in conventional activated sludge process and advanced MBR technology. Water Research, 133, 236–246. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2018.01.049.

Lee, H., & Kim, Y. (2018). Treatment characteristics of microplastics at biological sewage treatment facilities in Korea. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 137, 1–8. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.09.050.

Liu, X., Yuan, W., Di, M., Li, Z., & Wang, J. (2019). Transfer and fate of microplastics during the conventional activated sludge process in one wastewater treatment plant of China. Chemical Engineering Journal, 362, 176–182. doi:10.1016/j.cej.2019.01.033.

Magni, S., Binelli, A., Pittura, L., Avio, C. G., Della Torre, C., Parenti, C. C., Gorbi, S., & Regoli, F. (2019). The fate of microplastics in an Italian Wastewater Treatment Plant. Science of the Total Environment, 652, 602–610. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.269.

Ziajahromi, S., Neale, P. A., Telles Silveira, I., Chua, A., & Leusch, F. D. L. (2021). An audit of microplastic abundance throughout three Australian wastewater treatment plants. Chemosphere, 263, 128294. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128294.

Ren, P. J., Dou, M., Wang, C., Li, G. Q., & Jia, R. (2020). Abundance and removal characteristics of microplastics at a wastewater treatment plant in Zhengzhou. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(29), 36295–36305. doi:10.1007/s11356-020-09611-5.

Edo, C., González-Pleiter, M., Leganés, F., Fernández-Piñas, F., & Rosal, R. (2020). Fate of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants and their environmental dispersion with effluent and sludge. Environmental Pollution, 259, 113837. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113837.

Jiang, J., Wang, X., Ren, H., Cao, G., Xie, G., Xing, D., & Liu, B. (2020). Investigation and fate of microplastics in wastewater and sludge filter cake from a wastewater treatment plant in China. Science of the Total Environment, 746, 141378. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141378.

Rasmussen, L. A., Iordachescu, L., Tumlin, S., & Vollertsen, J. (2021). A complete mass balance for plastics in a wastewater treatment plant - Macroplastics contributes more than microplastics. Water Research, 201, 117307. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2021.117307.

Tadsuwan, K., & Babel, S. (2022). Microplastic abundance and removal via an ultrafiltration system coupled to a conventional municipal wastewater treatment plant in Thailand. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 10(2), 107142. doi:10.1016/j.jece.2022.107142.

Vardar, S., Onay, T. T., Demirel, B., & Kideys, A. E. (2021). Evaluation of microplastics removal efficiency at a wastewater treatment plant discharging to the Sea of Marmara. Environmental Pollution, 289, 117862. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117862.

Ma, B., Xue, W., Hu, C., Liu, H., Qu, J., & Li, L. (2019). Characteristics of microplastic removal via coagulation and ultrafiltration during drinking water treatment. Chemical Engineering Journal, 359, 159–167. doi:10.1016/j.cej.2018.11.155.


Full Text: PDF

DOI: 10.28991/HEF-2022-03-01-010

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2022 Daniel Tang Kuok Ho