Microplastics in two German wastewater treatment plants: Year-long effluent analysis with FTIR and Py-GC/MS

Roscher, Lisa; Halbach, Maurits; Nguyen, Minh Trang; Hebeler, Martin; Luschtinetz, Franziska; Scholz‐Böttcher, Barbara M.; Primpke, Sebastian; Gerdts, Gunnar

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152619

Cited by 71 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Py-GC-MS analyzes samples in the µg-range and therefore needs a sample purification similar to spectroscopic methods. Recently, mass concentrations of 0.3 – 3.8 µg L-1 for the MP fraction < 500 µm in a WWTP effluent were reported using this method ( Roscher et al., 2022 ). TED-GC–MS uses larger crucibles with sample sizes in the mg-range.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, PE, PP and PET accounted for the majority of production in the plastic industry ( PlasticsEurope, 2020 ) and commonly constitute the largest fraction of MPP abundance in municipal wastewaters ( Lv et al., 2019 ; Mintenig et al., 2014 ; S.M. 2017 ; Roscher et al., 2022 ; Wolff et al., 2019 ). An advantage of the DSC analysis is its simplicity and the short measurement time (∼2 h).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This proves the validity of the DSC analyses for the purpose of determining MP loads in WWTP effluents, as the values fit in the range of concentrations reported with other methods: A median MP concentration of 16 µg L -1 was reported for ten Danish WWTPs by extrapolating from spectroscopic data ( Vollertsen and Hansen, 2017 ). Thereafter, 0.5 – 11.9 µg L -1 were measured by for MPP the size of 10 – 500 µm with a similar method ( Simon et al., 2018 ) and 0.3 – 3.8 µg L -1 were determined for MPP also the size of 10 – 500 µm by py-GC-MS ( Roscher et al., 2022 ). This confirms the range of MP concentrations found here for WWTPs that include primary clarification, biological treatment and secondary clarification.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In wastewater samples, mass concentrations have been extrapolated from imaging data ( Olesen et al., 2019 ; Simon et al., 2018 ) or parts of the studied particles (> 500 µm) have been weighed ( Rasmussen et al., 2021 ). Recently, Roscher et al. (2022) reported the quantification of the sample fraction < 500 µm in the effluent of a WWTP.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Semi-crystalline microplastics in wastewater plant effluents and removal efficiencies of post-treatment filtration systems

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“…Spectroscopic and thermoanalytical methods generate highly complementary data (Hendrickson et al, 2018, Käppler et al, 2018, Primpke et al, 2020c, Kirstein et al, 2021. Thermal degradation methods provide the mass of a specific polymer that is defined by the detected polymer backbone (Primpke et al, 2020c, Dibke et al, 2021, Roscher et al, 2021b. Spectroscopic methods such as FTIR and Raman methods provide particle size and number information, but the conversion to mass-related data has clear limits as it assumes ideal ellipsoid shape of a particle (Simon et al, 2018, Mintenig et al, 2020, Primpke et al, 2020c.…”

Section: Synergies Between Thermoanalytical and Spectroscopic Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring of microplastic pollution in the Arctic: recent developments in polymer identification, quality assurance and control, and data reporting

et al. 2023

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The pollution of the environment with plastics is of growing concern worldwide, including the Arctic region. While larger plastic pieces are a visible pollution issue, smaller microplastics are not visible with the naked eye. These particles are available for interaction by Arctic biota and have become a concern for animal and human health. The determination of microplastic properties includes several methodological steps, i.e. sampling, extraction, quantification and chemical identification. This review discusses suitable analytical tools for the identification, quantification and characterization of microplastics in the context of monitoring in the Arctic. It further addresses quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) which is particularly important for the determination of microplastic in the Arctic, as both contamination and analyte losses can occur. It presents specific QA/QC measures for sampling procedures and for the handling of samples in the laboratory, either on land or on ship, and considering the small size of microplastics as well as the high risk of contamination. The review depicts which data should be mandatory to report, thereby supporting a framework for harmonized data reporting.

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Identification of microplastic pathways within a typical European urban wastewater system

et al. 2023

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In recent years, thermoextraction/desorption‐gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TED‐GC/MS) has been developed as a rapid detection method for the determination of microplastics (MP) mass contents in numerous environmentally relevant matrices and, in particular, for the measurement of polymers in water samples without time‐consuming sample preparation. The TED‐GC/MS method was applied to investigate a typical European municipal wastewater system for possible MP masses. Such investigations are important in view of the recent revision of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. Four different representative sampling sites were selected: greywater (domestic wastewater without toilet), combined sewer, and influent and effluent of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). All samples were collected by fractional filtration. Filtration was carried out over mesh sizes of 500, 100, 50, and in some cases, 5 µm. Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) were detected in all samples, with the PE fraction dominating in all cases. Styrene‐butadiene rubber which serves as an indication of tire abrasion, was only found in the influent of the WWTP. The highest MP mass contents were found in the combined sewer, so MP can become a source of pollution during heavy rain events when the capacity limits of the effluent are reached, and the polluted effluent is released uncontrolled into the environment. Based on the studies, MP retention from the WWTP could be estimated to be approximately 96%. Few trends in polymer type or mass contents were detected within the different fractions of the samples or when comparing samples to each other.

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Microplastics in two German wastewater treatment plants: Year-long effluent analysis with FTIR and Py-GC/MS

Cited by 71 publications

References 52 publications

Semi-crystalline microplastics in wastewater plant effluents and removal efficiencies of post-treatment filtration systems

Semi-crystalline microplastics in wastewater plant effluents and removal efficiencies of post-treatment filtration systems

Monitoring of microplastic pollution in the Arctic: recent developments in polymer identification, quality assurance and control, and data reporting

Identification of microplastic pathways within a typical European urban wastewater system

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