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Micro(nano)plastic Contaminants in Wastewater and Drinking Water – Occurrence, Management and Treatment Technologies

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Resources and Sustainable Utilization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 2531

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Nsikak Benson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Covenant University, Ota 112104, Nigeria
Interests: marine plastic pollution; environmental biogeochemistry of micropollutants; marine biogeochemistry; environmental toxicology; environmental nanotoxicology
Prof. Dr. Francis Emile Asuquo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physical Oceanography, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
Interests: marine biogeochemistry; toxicology; marine pollution

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent times, the presence of micro(nano)plastics (MNPs) in drinking water and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has caused growing concerns about the integrity of treated water's quality. Although micro(nano)plastics have broad but small sizes and diverse chemical compositions, recent research on detecting and removing them via water treatment or purification techniques is still evolving. Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) are commonly characterized as plastic particles with diameters of 1 nm to <5 mm, and < 1 nm, respectively. Microplastics can be formed from the breakdown and weathering of macro(meso)plastics (secondary microplastics) or as a result of the direct discharge of primary microplastic items such as fibers, microbeads, and nurdles. Like many emerging micropollutants (EMPs), microplastics are produced from various human-mediated sources and ultimately wind up in wastewater treatment plants. The most common MPs detected in wastewater treatment plants are fibers and microbeads. Wastewaters from domestic, commercial and industrial sources are treated at municipal WWTPs. Their effluents constitute a major source of MPs entering the surface waters, most commonly rivers, from which they are transported to the ocean. The introduction of MNPs into the terrestrial and aquatic environments through WWTPs processes could potentially exacerbate the plastic pollution problem. The sludge from sewage treatment sometimes contains plastic particles, which could also be used for agricultural purposes. Although the conventional wastewater treatment plants or water purification processes are not designed or technically adapted for MP and NP removal, several studies show that alternative treatment options may boost the efficiency of their detection and elimination.

This Special Issue aims to compile cutting-edge publications on the methodologies for the sampling, detection and identification of micro(nano)plastic particles prevalent in WWTPs. Recent original research papers, reviews, perspectives and minireviews focused on furthering our understanding of the occurrence, fate, and distribution of micro(nano)plastics during wastewater treatment process, as well as the quantification of micro(nano)plastics removal efficiency by alternative purification technologies, will be considered.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Nsikak Benson
Prof. Dr. Francis Emile Asuquo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microplastics
  • nanoplastics
  • plastic contaminants
  • wastewater treatment plants
  • sludge processing
  • plastic pollution

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 2790 KiB  
Article
Microplastics in Kuwait’s Wastewater Streams
by Saif Uddin, Montaha Behbehani, Nazima Habibi, Mohammed Faizuddin, Mohammad Al-Murad, Karell Martinez-Guijarro, Hanan A. Al-Sarawi and Qusaie Karam
Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15817; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315817 - 28 Nov 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1660
Abstract
The wastewater stream is the most significant contributor of microplastics (MPs) to the environment. There are five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Kuwait. This baseline study provides an overview of MP removal in three major WWTPs in Kuwait that treat some 81.31% of [...] Read more.
The wastewater stream is the most significant contributor of microplastics (MPs) to the environment. There are five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Kuwait. This baseline study provides an overview of MP removal in three major WWTPs in Kuwait that treat some 81.31% of the wastewater produced. The Sulabiya WWTP was the most efficient in MP removal, followed by the Kabd and Umm Al-Haiman WWTPs. The MP removal efficiency of plants in Kuwait is very high for Sulabiya WWTP and Kabd WWTP with an average of 2.5 MP L−1 in treated effluent comparable to the WWTPs in Australia, the United States, and Europe. The standard methodology of sample collection, preparation, and identification using microscopic examination and micro-Raman spectrometry was followed. Over 94.5 billion MPs enter the three WWTPs daily; 92.3 billion MPs are retained in sludge, while 2.2 billion are passed into the environment due to the use of treated effluent. The influent, effluent, and sludge MP inventories ranged between 119 and 230 MP L−1, 1 and 12 MP L−1, and 72 and 103 MP 10 g−1 respectively. The fiber was the dominant shape, and white, transparent, and black were prevalent colors. Currently, sludge is not used in Kuwait for any terrestrial or agricultural application; however, sludge is routinely used in many countries as a soil additive in agricultural farms. Using effluent water in irrigation leads to MP dissemination in the terrestrial environment. It is necessary to assess how far these MPs move in the soil profile and if they can contaminate the shallow aquifers. The observation of MP retention in sludge and effluent is empirical, and the use of these matrixes in agriculture is likely to raise an issue of food safety. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro(nano)plastic Contaminants in Wastewater and Drinking Water – Occurrence, Management and Treatment Technologies)
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