Most plastic particles can be removed in wastewater

BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) – Chinese researchers have discovered that more than 60 percent of plastic particles can be removed from wastewater, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) reported.

Researchers from the Botanical Garden of the Wuhan Academy have been studying the possibility of removing plastic particles from a purification plant in Wuhan, Hubei Province, central China.

The researchers found that 64.4% of the plastic particles could be removed in the wastewater and that most of the plastics removed were removed and stored in sludge. This study was published in the Journal of Chemical Engineering.

Fibers and shrapnel were the main microparticles found at wastewater sampling sites.

The proportion of larger plastic particles in effluents was lower than that of other wastewater due to decomposition during sewage flow and sludge sedimentation.

The researchers found that polyamide or nylon is the main component of plastic in wastewater at 54.8%, indicating that plastic particles can come mainly from wastewater discharged by washing, manufacturing and processing of the polymer.

According to previous reports, the deepest part of the world's largest ocean and its benthic waters have been contaminated by fine plastics.

Fine plastic particles less than five millimeters in diameter were strongly affected by aquatic organisms.