Microplastic Types in the Wastewater System-A Comparison of Material Flow-Based Source Estimates and the Measurement-Based Load to a Wastewater Treatment Plant

Microplastics are omnipresent in the environment, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been highlighted as a transport pathway. The aim of this study is to contribute to increased understanding of microplastic sources in wastewater and test the possibilities of source tracking. Previous research has focused either on estimating microplastic contribution from various sources or on quantifying occurrence based on measurements. In this paper, these two approaches are compared. Microplastic types detected in the influent to a WWTP in Sweden are compared with estimations of sources in the WWTP catchment area. The total load from the identified sources was estimated to 1.9-14 tonnes/year, and the measurement-based load was 4.2 tonnes/year. In general, there was a good agreement between the two approaches; microplastic types with large shares at the inlet also had large contributions in the source estimates. An exception was cellulose acetate, which was not found at the inlet despite a large theoretical contribution. Many uncertainties remain, which lead to large intervals for the source estimates. The comparison can give an indication into which part of the intervals is most likely. Investigating more WWTPs with different characteristics and including particle morphology will further increase the understanding of sources that contribute to the presence of microplastics in wastewater.

Automated summary

This study compared the types of microplastics detected at the inlet of a wastewater treatment plant in Sweden with estimations of sources in the plant's catchment area, showing good agreement between the two methods with some exceptions.