Fate of microplastics in urban wastewater treatment plants and their contribution to the receiving river via effluent discharge

Qianhua ZHANG; Shujie ZHOU; Zeyu LI; Yuan ZHANG; Wenxin OUYANG; Lei MAI

doi:10.1007/s00343-024-4138-1

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Fate of microplastics in urban wastewater treatment plants and their contribution to the receiving river via effluent discharge

Micro- and nano-plastics in freshwater environments | Updated：2025-03-21

- Fate of microplastics in urban wastewater treatment plants and their contribution to the receiving river via effluent discharge
- Fate of microplastics in urban wastewater treatment plants and their contribution to the receiving river via effluent discharge
- 海洋湖沼学报(英文) 2025年43卷第2期页码：372-382
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Guangzhou Ecological Environment Monitoring Center Station of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510060, China
  2.Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) and Center for Environmental Microplastics Studies, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China
- Author bio：
  
  49244471@qq.com
  lei_mai@jnu.edu.cn
- Funds：
  
  the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21936004);the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai)(SML2021SP208);the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(21623118)
- DOI：10.1007/s00343-024-4138-1
  中图分类号：
- 收稿：2024-05-15，
  
  网络首发：2024-08-10，
  
  纸质出版：2025-03-01
- Accepted：
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Fate of microplastics in urban wastewater treatment plants and their contribution to the receiving river via effluent discharge[J]. 海洋湖沼学报(英文), 2025,43(2):372-382.

ZHANG Qianhua,ZHOU Shujie,LI Zeyu,et al.Fate of microplastics in urban wastewater treatment plants and their contribution to the receiving river via effluent discharge[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2025,43(02):372-382.
Fate of microplastics in urban wastewater treatment plants and their contribution to the receiving river via effluent discharge[J]. 海洋湖沼学报(英文), 2025,43(2):372-382. DOI： 10.1007/s00343-024-4138-1.

ZHANG Qianhua,ZHOU Shujie,LI Zeyu,et al.Fate of microplastics in urban wastewater treatment plants and their contribution to the receiving river via effluent discharge[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2025,43(02):372-382. DOI： 10.1007/s00343-024-4138-1.

摘要

Abstract

Effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are recognized as an important source for microplastic (MP) pollution in the receiving waters. The removal efficiency of MPs in WWTPs and the discharge flux remain largely unknown. The present study measured the MP abundances in the influents

effluents

and activated sludge in four domestic and one industrial WWTPs in Guangzhou

China. The MP abundance detected in influent samples were approximately one order of magnitude higher than those found in effluents

resulting in high removal efficiencies of MPs (97.4%‍‍‍–‍98.7%) in these WWTPs. A significant amount of the removed MPs deposited in the activated sludge

with abundances of MPs ranging from 7 to 888 pieces/g dry weight sludge. Microplastics remaining in effluents were discharged into the receiving river with releasing rates of ranging from (1.1±1.0)×10

to (4.54±3.92)×10

pieces per day. Results obtained in the present study suggest that the contribution of MPs from WWTPs to the aquatic environment is non-negligible and the application of sludge in the agricultural environment may bring additional MP pollution to agricultural soils.

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references

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