Microplastics in Ship Sewage and Solutions to Limit Their Spread: A Case Study

The case study presented in the paper is the first in the field to find microplastic (MP) particles in both grey water (GW) and post-treatment sewage (TS) samples, which can also be legally discharged into specially protected areas. Compiling a data set of 50 water samples collected from the GW and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water (Basel) 2022-11, Vol.14 (22), p.3701
Main Authors: Kalnina, Renate, Demjanenko, Ieva, Smilgainis, Kristaps, Lukins, Kristaps, Bankovics, Arnis, Drunka, Reinis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case studies
Chemical elements
Effluents
Fibers
Fourier transforms
Greywater
Infrared spectroscopy
Landfill
Maritime industry
Microplastics
Plastic pollution
Polyamide resins
Polyamides
Polyester resins
Polyethylenes
Ports
Protected areas
Purification
Scanning electron microscopy
Sewage
Sewage treatment plants
Shipping industry
Ships
Waste management
Wastewater treatment
Water analysis
Water sampling
Water treatment
X-ray spectroscopy
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Summary:The case study presented in the paper is the first in the field to find microplastic (MP) particles in both grey water (GW) and post-treatment sewage (TS) samples, which can also be legally discharged into specially protected areas. Compiling a data set of 50 water samples collected from the GW and TS samples of 5 transport ships involved in the case study, we show that the mean number of separated microparticles in the GW samples n = 72 particles per litre, and in the TS samples n = 51 particles per litre. Of the 614 separated particles, the most common were fibres n = 285 (46.4%), followed by other (various) hard particles n = 226 (36.8%) and soft particles n = 104 (16.8%). Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FT-IR) identification was mainly in the form polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) (solid particles and films), polyesters, polyamides, and acrylic fibres. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis revealed ecotoxic chemical elements on the surface of these particles. Our results show that the sewage treatment facilities installed on ships need to be improved, and we developed a solution for this. The findings of the case study certainly deserve further attention and serve as an impetus for research on the improvement of ship wastewater treatment facilities.
ISSN:2073-4441
2073-4441
DOI:10.3390/w14223701