Challenges and Treatment of Microplastics in Water

Abstract

Microplastics are particularly problematic and could pose big treatment. challenges. In today's world, plastic is an essential raw material. Since their invention in the 1930s, plastics have become ubiquitous in the manufacture of everyday products. Part of the problem stems from the fact that it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact source of the microplastics because of their relatively fragmented nature, small size, and a wide range of potential sources. Microplastics have become a threat to the environment, a concern reflected by sites with unusually high concentrations and a possibility of even greater concentrations in the future. Consequently, the use and subsequent release of microplastics must be drastically reduced as part of a global initiative even prior to the availability of research studies outlining the long-term risks involved. This chapter will interrogate key sources of microplastics, assess their capacity to problematize water resources in urban environments, as well as offer an analysis of its effects on the environment and some of the methodologies that can be applied to control it.

Enhanced Visible Light Photodegradation of Microplastic Fragments with Plasmonic Platinum/Zinc Oxide Nanorod Photocatalysts

“…Removal of microplastics from water or wastewater is difficult, due to the intrinsic physical and chemical characteristics. Few studies suggest advanced treatment technologies like membrane bioreactor, bacterial oxidation, retrofilteration that could be suitable for removing microplastics from aqueous media, but can be time-consuming and expensive often with high energy requirements [6,7]. Other available options are removal by physical or mechanical means or degradation by thermal, chemical or catalytic processes [8,9].…”

The occurrence of microplastics in freshwater systems – preliminary results from Krakow (Poland)

“…Despite the fact that the upper limit of size is considered as 5 mm in a large number of publications (e.g. Faure et al 2012, Free et al 2014, Wagner et al 2014, Davis & Murphy 2015, Dris et al 2015a, 2015b, Graca et al 2017, Manalu et al 2017, Mrowiec 2017, Li et al 2018, Sighicelli et al 2018, Westphalen & Abdelrasoul 2018, some scientists also distinguish a division into macroplastics, i.e. particles larger than 5 mm (Faure et al 2012).…”

“…The amount of microfibres will continue to increase in the future, and the only way to stop this is to avoid or improve the biodegradability of polymers used in textiles (Carr 2017). The appearance of microplastics in sewage sludge, on the one hand, is being reduced because of the effective treatment of sewage and concomitant reduction in the amount found in environments, yet remains a further threat because sewage sludge is commonly used for agricultural fertilization (Dris et al 2015b, Westphalen & Abdelrasoul 2018.…”

The role of wastewater treatment plants in surface water contamination by plastic pollutants

“…Primary microplastics also include industrial abrasives or scrubbers used to blast clean surfaces or plastic powders used in modelling and drilling fluids for oil and gas exploration. Plastic pellets as raw material are used for plastic fabrication for many industrial applications [17,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27].…”

“…The most important route of secondary microplastics into the environment is their loss from the inappropriate management of landfill sites and during waste collection. Moreover, the sources of secondary microplastics are: littering and dumping of plastic waste, losses of plastic material during natural disasters, abrasion-release of fibres from synthetic textiles and hygiene products, abrasion from car tyres, plastic items in organic waste and another [27].…”