Microplastics in municipal wastewater treatment plants in Turkey: a comparison of the influent and secondary effluent concentrations

Wastewater treatment plants are one of the primary pathways through which microplastics enter aquatic environments. In this study, we have determined the microplastic concentrations of the influent and secondary effluent water of two wastewater treatment plants in Turkey. For this purpose, we have t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental monitoring and assessment 2018-11, Vol.190 (11), p.626-10, Article 626
Main Authors: Gündoğdu, Sedat, Çevik, Cem, Güzel, Evşen, Kilercioğlu, Serdar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analytical methods
Aquatic environment
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
Ecotoxicology
Effluents
Environment
Environmental Management
Environmental monitoring
Environmental Monitoring - methods
Environmental science
Influents
Microplastics
Monitoring/Environmental Analysis
Municipal wastewater
Plastic pollution
Plastics - analysis
Polymers
Raman spectroscopy
Removal
Spectroscopy
Turkey
Waste Disposal, Fluid
Waste Water - chemistry
Wastewater
Wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment plants
Water - analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Water treatment
Water treatment plants
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Summary:Wastewater treatment plants are one of the primary pathways through which microplastics enter aquatic environments. In this study, we have determined the microplastic concentrations of the influent and secondary effluent water of two wastewater treatment plants in Turkey. For this purpose, we have taken samples of the influent and effluent water of Seyhan and Yüreğir wastewater treatment facilities for 6 days in August 2017 and determined their microplastics’ content both visually and using μ-Raman spectroscopy. The results showed that the influent of the wastewater treatment contained 1 million–6.5 million particles per day, while the effluent contained 220,000–1.5 million particles per day. The removal rate of microplastics was found to be between 73 and 79%. In total, seven different types of polymers were detected. The most frequently observed polymer type was polyester.
ISSN:0167-6369
1573-2959
DOI:10.1007/s10661-018-7010-y