Investigation of microplastic emissions via wastewater from a plastic recycling facility

Abstract

Several studies have now been conducted on the discharge of microplastics (MPs) from municipal solid waste incinerator in Japan via wastewater. It has been found that a variety of MPs are contained in plant wastewater and wastewater from wet scrubber, most of which are removed by the wastewater treatment process. In this study, we focused on plastic recycling facilities in Japan to reveal the number concentration of MPs, their types, removal behavior in the wastewater treatment process, and emission impact. As a result, the number concentration of MPs influent the wastewater treatment process was 6.00x10³/L and the effluent the wastewater treatment process was 4.24/ L. More than 99.9% of MPs were removed by the wastewater treatment process. The number concentration of MPs discharged from this facility into the sewage via wastewater is comparable to the number concentration of MPs entering the sewage treatment plant as shown in other literature, and the impact of MPs discharge from the facility on the sewage is low due to the current wastewater treatment system.