TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing the Mass Concentration of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Wastewater Treatment Plants by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
AU - Xu, Yanghui
AU - Ou, Qin
AU - Wang, Xintu
AU - Hou, Feng
AU - Li, Peng
AU - van der Hoek, Jan Peter
AU - Liu, Gang
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - The level of microplastics (MPs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has been well evaluated by the particle number, while the mass concentration of MPs and especially nanoplastics (NPs) remains unclear. In this study, pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to determine the mass concentrations of MPs and NPs with different size ranges (0.01-1, 1-50, and 50-1000 μm) across the whole treatment schemes in two WWTPs. The mass concentrations of total MPs and NPs decreased from 26.23 and 11.28 μg/L in the influent to 1.75 and 0.71 μg/L in the effluent, with removal rates of 93.3 and 93.7% in plants A and B, respectively. The proportions of NPs (0.01-1 μm) were 12.0-17.9 and 5.6-19.5% in plants A and B, respectively, and the removal efficiency of NPs was lower than that of MPs (>1 μm). Based on annual wastewater effluent discharge, it is estimated that about 0.321 and 0.052 tons of MPs and NPs were released into the river each year. Overall, this study investigated the mass concentration of MPs and NPs with a wide size range of 0.01-1000 μm in wastewater, which provided valuable information regarding the pollution level and distribution characteristics of MPs, especially NPs, in WWTPs.
AB - The level of microplastics (MPs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has been well evaluated by the particle number, while the mass concentration of MPs and especially nanoplastics (NPs) remains unclear. In this study, pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to determine the mass concentrations of MPs and NPs with different size ranges (0.01-1, 1-50, and 50-1000 μm) across the whole treatment schemes in two WWTPs. The mass concentrations of total MPs and NPs decreased from 26.23 and 11.28 μg/L in the influent to 1.75 and 0.71 μg/L in the effluent, with removal rates of 93.3 and 93.7% in plants A and B, respectively. The proportions of NPs (0.01-1 μm) were 12.0-17.9 and 5.6-19.5% in plants A and B, respectively, and the removal efficiency of NPs was lower than that of MPs (>1 μm). Based on annual wastewater effluent discharge, it is estimated that about 0.321 and 0.052 tons of MPs and NPs were released into the river each year. Overall, this study investigated the mass concentration of MPs and NPs with a wide size range of 0.01-1000 μm in wastewater, which provided valuable information regarding the pollution level and distribution characteristics of MPs, especially NPs, in WWTPs.
KW - mass concentration
KW - microplastics
KW - nanoplastics
KW - Py-GC/MS
KW - WWTPs
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148335194&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.2c07810
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.2c07810
M3 - Article
C2 - 36787182
AN - SCOPUS:85148335194
SN - 0013-936X
VL - 57
SP - 3114
EP - 3123
JO - Environmental Science and Technology
JF - Environmental Science and Technology
IS - 8
ER -