Bark and biochar in horizontal flow filters effectively remove microplastics from stormwater.

Organic materials such as bark and biochar can be effective filter materials to treat stormwater. However, the efficiency of such filters in retaining microplastics (MPs) - an emerging stormwater pollutant - has not been sufficiently studied. This study investigated the removal and transport of a mixture of MPs commonly associated with stormwater. Different MP types (polyamide, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene) were mixed into the initial 2 cm material of horizontal bark and biochar filters of 25, 50, and 100 cm lengths. The MP types consisted of spherical and fragmented shapes in size ranges of 25-900 µm. The filters were subjected to a water flow of 5 mL/min for one week, and the total effluents were analyzed for MPs by µFTIR imaging. To gain a deeper insight, one 100 cm bark filter replica was split into 10 cm segments, and MPs in each segment were extracted and counted. The results showed that MPs were retained effectively, >97%, in all biochar and bark filters. However, MPs were detected in all effluents regardless of filter length. Effluent concentrations of 5-750 MP/L and 35-355 MP/L were measured in bark and biochar effluents, respectively, with >91% of the MP counts consisting of small-sized (25 µm) polyamide spherical particles. Combining all data, a decrease in average MP concentration was noticed with longer filters, likely attributed to channeling in a 25 and 50-cm filter. The analyses of MPs in the bark media revealed that most MPs were retained in the 0-10 cm segment but that some MPs were transported further, with 19% of polyamide retained in the 80-90 cm segment. Overall, this study shows promising results for bark and biochar filters to retain MPs, while highlighting the importance of systematic packing of filters to reduce MP emissions to the environment from polluted stormwater.

Vertical distribution of microplastics in an agricultural soil after long-term treatment with sewage sludge and mineral fertiliser.

Sewage sludge applications release contaminants to agricultural soils, such as potentially toxic metals and microplastics (MPs). However, factors determining the subsequent mobility of MPs in long-term field conditions are poorly understood. This study aimed to understand the vertical distribution of MPs in soils amended with sewage sludge in comparison to conventional mineral fertiliser for 24 years. The depth-dependent MP mass and number concentrations, plastic types, sizes and shapes were compared with the distribution of organic carbon and metals to provide insights into potentially transport-limiting factors. Polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene mass concentrations were screened down to 90 cm depth via pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. MP number concentrations, additional plastic types, sizes, and shapes were analysed down to 40 cm depth using micro-Fourier transform-infrared imaging. Across all depths, MP numbers were twice and mass concentrations 8 times higher when sewage sludge was applied, with a higher share of textile-related plastics, more fibres and on average larger particles than in soil receiving mineral fertiliser. Transport of MPs beyond the plough layer (0-20 cm) is often assumed negligible, but substantial MP numbers (42 %) and mass (52 %) were detected down to 70 cm in sewage sludge-amended soils. The initial mobilization of MPs was shape- and size-dependent, because the fractions of fragmental-shaped and relatively small MPs increased directly below the plough layer, but not at greater depths. The sharp decline of total MP concentrations between 20 and 40 cm depth resembled that of metals and organic matter suggesting similar transport limitations. We hypothesize that the effect of soil management, such as ploughing, on soil compactness and subsequent transport by bioturbation and via macropores drives vertical MP distribution over long time scales. Risk assessment in soils should therefore account for considerable MP displacement to avoid underestimating soil exposure.

Point-source tracking of microplastics in sewerage systems. Finding the culprit.

Prior microplastic (MP) research has focused more on the efficiency of removal techniques within wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), with comparatively less emphasis placed on identifying and understanding the sources of MPs. In this study, the presence of MP in wastewater from various sources and their associated WWTPs was investigated. Utilising focal plane array micro Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FPA-µFTIR), the chemical composition, size distribution, and mass of MPs were quantified. Notably, wastewater generated from an industrial laundry facility exhibited the highest MP concentration of 6900 counts L-1 or 716 µg L-1. Domestic sewage contained MP levels (1534 counts L-1; 158 µg L-1) similar to those at the WWTPs (1640 counts L-1; 114 µg L-1). Polyester was identified as a significant component in most of the sources, predominantly originating from the shedding of fibres during textile washing. Additionally, a post-processing software was employed to compare two methods for fibre identification: aspect ratio and elongation ratio. These findings underscore the potential environmental impact of domestic activities and laundry washing on wastewater MP content.

Snow dumping station - A considerable source of tyre wear, microplastics, and heavy metal pollution.

Snow dumping stations can be a hotspots for pollutants to water resources. However, little is known about the amount of microplastics including tyre wear particles transported this way. This study investigated microplastics and metals in snow from four snow dumping stations in Riga, Latvia, a remote site (Gauja National Park), and a roof top in Riga. Microplastics other than tyre wear particles were identified with Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) (>500 µm) and focal plane array based micro-Fourier Transform Infrared (FPA-µFTIR) imaging (10-500 µm), tyre wear particles by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (Py-GC-MS), and total metals by Inductively Coupled Plasma with Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Microplastics detected by FTIR were quantified by particle counts and their mass estimated, while tyre wear particles were quantified by mass. The concentrations varied substantially, with the highest levels in the urban areas. Microplastic concentrations measured by FTIR ranged between 26 and 2549 counts L-1 of melted snow with a corresponding estimated mass of 19-573 µg/L. Tyre wear particles were not detected at the two reference sites, while other sites held 44-3026 µg/L. Metal concentrations varied several orders of magnitude with for example sodium in the range 0.45-819.54 mg/L and cadmium in the range 0.05-0.94 µg/L. Correlating microplastic measured by FTIR to metal content showed a weak to moderate correlation. Tyre wear particles, however, correlated strongly to many of the metals. The study showed that snow can hold considerable amounts of these pollutants, which upon melting and release of the meltwater to the aquatic environment could impact receiving waters.

Treating wastewater for microplastics to a level on par with nearby marine waters.

Retention of microplastics (MPs) at the third largest wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Sweden was investigated. The plant is one of the most modern and advanced of its kind, with rapid sand filter for tertiary treatment in combination with mechanical, biological, and chemical treatment. It achieved a significantly high treatment efficiency, which brought the MP concentration in its discharge on par with concentrations measured in marine waters of the same region. This novel data shows that properly designed modern WWTPs can reduce the MP content of sewage down to background levels measured in the receiving aquatic environment. Opposite to current understanding of the retention of MP by WWTPs, a modern and well-designed WWTP does not have to be a significant point source for MP. MPs were quantified at all major treatment steps, including digester inlet and outlet sludge. MPs sized 10-500 µm were analyzed by a focal plane array based micro-Fourier transform infrared (FPA-µFTIR) microscopy, a hyperspectral imaging technique, while MPs above 500 µm were analyzed by Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Mass was estimated from the hyperspectral images for MPs <500 µm and from microscope images >500 µm. The overall treatment efficiency was in terms of MP counts 99.98 %, with a daily input of 6.42 × 1010 and output of 1.04 × 107 particles. The mass removal efficiency was 99.99 %. The mechanical part of the treatment, the pre-treatment, and primary stages, reduced both the MP counts and mass by approximately 71 %. The combined biological treatment, secondary settling, and final polishing with rapid sand filtration removed nearly all the remaining 29 %. MPs became successively smaller as they passed the different treatment steps. The digester inlet received 1.04 × 1011 MPs daily, while it discharged 9.96 × 1010 MPs, causing a small but not significant decrease in MP counts, with a corresponding MP mass reduction of 9.56 %.

Microplastic abundance in sludge-treated fields: Variance and estimated half-life.

This study investigated the abundance of microplastic (MP) in agricultural soil fertilised with sludge, assessing the variation in MP count and estimated mass in three long-term field trials treated excessively with sludge in 2003-2012. Ten samples were taken from each of the three fields with concentrations ranging from 2392 to 48,791 counts kg-1, where over 50 % of the MPs were polyester and acrylic. Due to the considerable variation in concentration, the impact of the number of sub-samples on the predicted measured concentration was estimated applying a Monto Carlo simulation approach. Choosing the number of sampling points is a compromise between acceptable sampling error and available resources. The simulations showed an increasingly high risk of obtaining an outlier when taking less than approx. ten subsamples. When ending fertilisation with sludge, the estimated half-life for the MPs measured by counts was approx. 2.5 years, whereas the half-life for the MP estimated mass was approx. 4 years. Hence, smaller particles seemed to degrade and/or migrate elsewhere the fastest.

Downward migrating microplastics in lake sediments are a tricky indicator for the onset of the Anthropocene.

Plastics are a recent particulate material in Earth's history. Because of plastics persistence and wide-range presence, it has a great potential of being a global age marker and correlation tool between sedimentary profiles. In this research, we query whether microplastics can be considered among the array of proxies to delimit the Anthropocene Epoch (starting from the year 1950 and above). We present a study of microplastics deposition history inferred from sediment profiles of lakes in northeastern Europe. The sediments were dated with independent proxies from the present back to the first half of the 18th century. Regardless of the sediment layer age, microplastic particles were found throughout the cores in all sites. Depending on particles' aspect ratio, less elongated particles were found deeper, while more elongated particles and fibers have reduced mobility. We conclude that interpretation of microplastics distribution in the studied sediment profiles is ambiguous and does not strictly indicate the beginning of the Anthropocene Epoch.

Detecting small microplastics down to 1.3 µm using large area ATR-FTIR.

Large area attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (LAATR-FTIR) is introduced as a novel technique for detecting small microplastics (MPs) down to 1.3 µm. Two different LAATR units, one with a zinc selenide (ZnSe) and one with a germanium (Ge) crystal, were used to detect reference MPs < 20 µm, and MPs in marine water samples, and compared with µ-FTIR in transmission mode. The LAATR units performed well in identifying small MPs down to 1.3 µm. However, they were poorly suited for large MPs as uneven particle thickness resulted in uneven contact between crystal and particle, misinterpreting large MPs as many small MPs. However, for more homogeneous matrices, the technique was promising. Further assessment indicated that there was little difference in spectra quality between transmission mode and LAATR mode. All in all, while LAATR units struggle to substitute transmission mode, it provides additional information and valuable information on small MPs.

What is hiding below the surface - MPs including TWP in an urban lake.

Inland lakes play an important role as habitats for local species and are often essential drinking water reservoirs. However, there is limited information about the presence of microplastics (MPs) in these water bodies. Thirteen sediment samples were collected across a Danish urban lake to map MPs, including tyre wear particles (TWP). The lower size detection limit was 10 µm. MPs were quantified as counts, size, and polymer type by Fourier-transform infrared microspectroscopy (µFTIR) and mass estimated from the 2D projections of the MPs. As TWP cannot be determined by µFTIR, counts and sizes could not be quantified by this technique. Instead, TWP mass was determined by pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). The average MP abundance was 279 mg kg-1 (µFTIR), of which 19 mg kg-1 (Py-GC/MS) were TWP. For MPs other than tyre wear, the average MP count concentration was 11,312 counts kg-1. Urban runoff from combined sewer overflows and separate stormwater outlets combined with outflow from a wastewater treatment plant were potential point sources. The spatial variation was substantial, with concentrations varying several orders of magnitude. There was no pattern in concentration across the lake, and the distribution of high and low values seemed random. This indicates that large sampling campaigns encompassing the entire lake are key to an accurate quantification. No preferential spatial trend in polymer characteristics was identified. For MPs other than TWP, the size of buoyant and non-buoyant polymers showed no significant difference across the lake, suggesting that the same processes brought them to the sediment, regardless of their density. Moreover, MP abundance was not correlated to sediment properties, further indicating a random occurrence of MPs in the lake sediments. These findings shed light on the occurrence and distribution of MPs, including TWP, in an inland lake, improving the basis for making mitigation decisions.

Does microplastic analysis method affect our understanding of microplastics in the environment?

Two analytical methods - both in active use at different laboratories - were tested and compared against each other to investigate how the procedure influences microplastic (MP) detection with micro Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (µFTIR) imaging. A representative composite water sample collected from the Danube River was divided into 12 subsamples, and processed following two different methods, which differed in MP isolation procedures, the optical substrate utilized for the chemical imaging, and the detection limit of the spectroscopic instruments. The first instrument had a nominal pixel resolution of 5.5 µm, while the second had a nominal resolution of 25 µm. These two methods led to different MP abundance, MP mass estimates, but not MP characteristics. Only looking at MPs > 50 µm, the first method showed a higher MP abundance, namely 418-2571 MP m-3 with MP mass estimates of 703-1900 µg m-3, while the second method yielded 16.7-72.1 MP m-3 with mass estimates of 222-439 µg m-3. Looking deeper into the steps of the methods showed that the MP isolation procedure contributed slightly to the difference in the result. However, the variability between individual samples was larger than the difference caused by the methods. Somewhat sample-dependent, the use of two different substrates (zinc selenide windows versus Anodisc filters) caused a substantial difference between results. This was due to a higher tendency for particles to agglomerate on the Anodisc filters, and an 'IR-halo' around particles on ZnSe windows when scanning with µFTIR. Finally, the µFTIR settings and nominal resolution caused significant differences in identifying MP size and mass estimate, which showed that the smaller the pixel size, the more accurately the particle boundary can be defined. These findings contributed to explaining disagreements between studies and addressed the importance of harmonization of methods.

Study of traffic-related pollution and its treatment with a particular focus on microplastics in tunnel wash and road runoff water.

Treatment of tunnel wash runoff water and road runoff water before it reaches the environment is recommended to limit the negative consequences of traffic-related pollution. The efficiency of existing water treatment systems to remove traffic-related microplastic (MP) has not been sufficiently documented. Expanding the knowledge about traffic-related MP and documenting the treatment efficiency of MP in road tunnel wash water (TWW) and road runoff (RRW) treatment systems were the objectives of the presented project. TWW from the Tåsen tunnel, Norway, and RRW from the Fossbekken sedimentation pond were investigated in summer and winter situations. Six commonly available polymer types, tire rubber tread particles (TRP), and road marking paints (RMP) were analyzed in the selected samples. About 0.12 and 0.26 µg/L of polymers were identified in winter and summer TWWs. Significantly higher tire rubber and road marking paint concentrations were identified in the winter sample compared to summer sample. Suspended particle concentration in the Fossbekken RRW treatment pond effluent was lower in the summer than in the winter sample. About 0.002 and 0.0008 µg/L polymer masses were identified in winter and summer samples, respectively. TRP in the winter and summer samples were 0.7 and 0.2 µg7/L, and 13.4 µg/L RMP was found in the winter sample, while it was only 0.008 µg/L in the summer sample.

Shapes of Hyperspectral Imaged Microplastics.

Shape matters for microplastics, but its definition, particularly for hyperspectral imaged microplastics, remains ambiguous and inexplicit, leading to incomparability across data. Hyperspectral imaging is a common approach for quantification, yet no unambiguous microplastic shape classification exists. We conducted an expert-based survey and proposed a set of clear and concise shapes (fiber, rod, ellipse, oval, sphere, quadrilateral, triangle, free-form, and unidentifiable). The categories were validated on images of 11,042 microplastics from four environmental compartments (seven matrices: indoor air; wastewater influent, effluent, and sludge; marine water; stormwater; and stormwater pond sediments), by inviting five experts to score each shape. We found that the proposed shapes were well defined, representative, and distinguishable to the human eye, especially for fiber and sphere. Ellipse, oval, and rod were though less distinguishable but dominated in all water and solid matrices. Indoor air held more unidentifiable, an abstract shape that appeared mostly for particles below 30 µm. This study highlights the need for assessing the recognizability of chosen shape categories prior to reporting data. Shapes with a clear and stringent definition would increase comparability and reproducibility across data and promote harmonization in microplastic research.

How effective is the retention of microplastics in horizontal flow sand filters treating stormwater?

Microplastics accumulate in stormwater and can ultimately enter freshwater recipients, and pose a serious risk to aquatic life. This study investigated the effectiveness of lab-scale horizontal flow sand filters of differing lengths (25, 50 and 100 cm) in retaining four types of thermoplastic microplastics commonly occurring in stormwater runoff (polyamide, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate). Despite the differences in particle shape, size and density, the study revealed that more than 98% of the spiked microplastics were retained in all filters, with a slightly increased removal with increased filter length. At a flow rate of 1 mL/min and after one week of operation, 62-84% of the added microplastics agglomerated in the first 2 cm of the filters. The agglomerated microplastics included 96% of high-density fibers. Larger-sized particles were retained in the sand media, while microplastics smaller than 50 µm were more often detected in the effluent. Microplastics were quantified and identified using imaging based micro Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. The efficient retention of microplastics in low-flow horizontal sand filters, demonstrated by the results, highlights their potential importance for stormwater management. This retention is facilitated by various factors, including microplastic agglomeration, particle sedimentation of heavy fibers and favorable particle-to-media size ratios.

Do drinking water plants retain microplastics? An exploratory study using Raman micro-spectroscopy.

The retainment of microplastics (MPs) down to 1 µm by a Danish drinking water plant fed with groundwater was quantified using Raman micro-spectroscopy (µRaman). The inlet and outlet were sampled in parallel triplicates over five consecutive days of normal activity. For each triplicate, approximately 1 m3 of drinking water was filtered with a custom-made device employing 1 µm steel filters. The MP abundance was expressed as MP counts per liter (N/L) and MP mass per liter (pg/L), the latter being estimated from the morphological parameters provided by the µRaman analysis. Hence the treated water held on average 1.4 MP counts/L, corresponding to 4 pg/L. The raw water entering the sand filters held a higher MP abundance, and the overall efficiency of the treatment was 43.2% in terms of MP counts and 75.1% in terms of MP mass. The reason for the difference between count-based and mass-based efficiencies was that 1-5 µm MP were retained to a significantly lower degree than larger ones. Above 10 µm, 79.6% of all MPs were retained by the filters, while the efficiency was only 41.1% below 5 µm. The MP retainment was highly variable between measurements, showing an overall decreasing tendency over the investigated period. Therefore, the plastic elements of the plant (valves, sealing components, etc.) likely released small-sized MPs due to the mechanical stress experienced during the treatment. The sub-micron fraction (0.45-1 µm) of the samples was also qualitatively explored, showing that nanoplastics (NPs) were present and that at least part hereof could be detected by µRaman.

Is Zooplankton an Entry Point of Microplastics into the Marine Food Web?

Microplastics (MPs) overlap in size with phytoplankton and can be ingested by zooplankton, transferring them to higher trophic levels. Copepods are the most abundant metazoans among zooplankton and the main link between primary producers and higher trophic levels. Ingestion of MPs has been investigated in the laboratory, but we still know little about the ingestion of MPs by zooplankton in the natural environment. In this study, we determined the concentration and characteristics of MPs down to 10 µm in zooplankton samples, sorted calanoid copepods, and fecal pellets collected in the Kattegat/Skagerrak Sea (Denmark). We found a median concentration of 1.7 × 10-3 MPs ind-1 in the zooplankton samples, 2.9 × 10-3 MPs ind-1 in the sorted-copepods, and 3 × 10-3 MPs per fecal pellet. Most MPs in the zooplankton samples and fecal pellets were fragments smaller than 100 µm, whereas fibers dominated in the sorted copepods. Based on the collected data, we estimated a MP budget for the surface layer (0-18 m), where copepods contained only 3% of the MPs in the water, while 5% of the MPs were packed in fecal pellets. However, the number of MPs exported daily to the pycnocline via fecal pellets was estimated to be 1.4% of the total MPs in the surface layer. Our results indicate that zooplankton are an entry point of small MPs in the food web, but the number of MPs in zooplankton and their fecal pellets was low compared with the number of MPs found in the water column and the occurrence and/or ingestion of MPs reported for nekton. This suggests a low risk of MP transferring to higher trophic levels through zooplankton and a quantitatively low, but ecologically relevant, contribution of fecal pellets to the vertical exportation of MPs in the ocean.

Nanoplastic production procedure for scientific purposes: PP, PVC, PE-LD, PE-HD, and PS.

Studies on the environmental impact of nanoplastics face challenges in plastic analysis and a scarcity of nanoplastic materials necessary for the development of analytical techniques and experiments on biota impact. Here we provide detailed procedures for obtaining nanoparticles suspended in water for the most commonly used polymers: Polypropylene (PP), Polyvinylchloride (PVC), Low- and High-Density Polyethylene (PE-LD, PE-HD), and Polystyrene (PS). We dissolved larger size material to reprecipitate nanoparticles. For all plastic types, we obtained nanoparticles with a size between 50 and 300 nm, and a mainly spherical morphology. We verified that no irreversible agglomeration or coalescence of the particles occurred after 5 days of storage. The concentrations obtained in the final carrier solution were of the order of 109 particles mL-1. To prevent the persistence of reagents in the final carrier solution, a filtration step was implemented at the end of the process. The method proved unsuitable for Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET).

Random forest microplastic classification using spectral subsamples of FT-IR hyperspectral images.

In this work, a random decision forest model is built for fast identification of Fourier-transform infrared spectra of the eleven most common types of microplastics in the environment. The random decision forest input data is reduced to a combination of highly discriminative single wavenumbers selected using a machine learning classifier. This dimension reduction allows input from systems with individual wavenumber measurements, and decreases prediction time. The training and testing spectra are extracted from Fourier-transform infrared hyperspectral images of pure-type microplastic samples, automatizing the process with reference spectra and a fast background correction and identification algorithm. Random decision forest classification results are validated using procedurally generated ground truth. The classification accuracy achieved on said ground truths are not expected to carry over to environmental samples as those usually contain a broader variety of materials.

Exploration of occurrence and sources of microplastics (>10 µm) in Danish marine waters.

Microplastics (MPs) were quantified in Danish marine waters of the Kattegat and the southernmost part of Skagerrak bordering to it. Kattegat is a waterbody between Denmark and Sweden that receives inflow from the Baltic Sea and direct urban runoff from the metropolitan area of Copenhagen and Malmö. MPs were measured in 14 continuous transects while steaming between monitoring stations. MP levels tended to be highest close to the Copenhagen-Malmö area, albeit this was more obvious from the abundance of particles rather than mass. The outcome of the measurements allowed a rough MP budget in the Danish Straits region, suggesting that urban waste- and stormwater discharges could not be neglected as potential MP source in these waters. The marine samples were collected by pumping and filtering water over 10 µm steel filters, hereby sampling a total of 19.3 m3. They were prepared and analyzed by FPA-µFTIR imaging, and the scans interpreted to yield MP size, shape, polymer type, and estimated mass. The average concentration was 103 ± 86 items m-3, corresponding to 23.3 ± 28.3 µg m-3 (17-286 items m-3; 0.6-84.1 µg m-3). Most MPs were smaller than 100 µm and fragments dominated the samples. The carbonyl index was assessed for polyolefins, showing that oxidation increased with decreasing MP size, but did not correlate with distance to urban areas. A rough budget of MP in the Danish Straits region suggested that MPs discharged from urban waste- and stormwaters were an import source of MPs.

Permeable pavements: A possible sink for tyre wear particles and other microplastics?

In this study, seven roads and parking lots were sampled by a road surface cleaning truck and approximately 100 kg of particulate material was collected per site. Thereafter, the samples were analysed for microplastics, including tyre wear particles. The analyses revealed that tyre wear constituted 0.09 % of the dry mass of the samples on average. Other plastic types were also identified in the samples, but at on average 49 times lower concentrations compared to tyre wear particles. Although the roads and parking lots were used for residential, industrial, and commercial purposes, no correlation between land use and the total concentrations of microplastics was identified. Of microplastics other than tyre wear particles, polypropylene constituted an important fraction in all samples, whereas other polymers were present at various degrees. The contents of heavy metals, sulphur, and total organic carbon were also measured in the samples, but no correlation between them and microplastics was determined. A back-of-the-envelope estimation indicated that the tyre wear material retained by permeable pavements constituted a non-negligible fraction of the total mass of microplastics released on roads and parking lots. Therefore, permeable pavements can serve as a tool for the management of this pollutant.