Pollutants

Factsheet 11: Microplastics in wastewater treatment - Development of sampling and analysis methods for detection of input quantities into surface waters

It is not easy to determine how much microplastic is contained in wastewater and sewage sludge. In addition to plastic, countless other particles and substances are present. To reliably determine the concentration of microplastic particles, complex procedures for sampling as well as for removal of foreign substances and analysis of the microplastic particles are required.

PLAWES

Microplastic Contamination in the Weser- Wadden Sea – National Park Model System: an Ecosystem-Wide Approach
September 2017
April 2021

In PLAWES, the modelling system of the German national park Weser-Wadden Sea was the first large European river basin that was investigated in detail regarding its microplastic pollution.

Website
http://www.bayceer.uni-bayreuth.de/PLAWES/en/
Project sheet
18_Projektblatt_PLAWES_ENG_2018.pdf

SubμTrack

Tracking of (Sub)Microplastics of Different Identities - Innovative Analysis Tools for Toxicological and Process-engineering Evaluation
September 2017
June 2021

The methods currently available for the analysis of microplastics in environmental matrices were primarily designed for particles in the size range of 1 μm to 5 mm. Smaller particles below 1 μm were hardly detected. However in contrast to larger particles, these are able to enter cells and have a higher potential for adsorption of pollutants due to their relatively larger surface.

Website
https://www.wasser.tum.de/en/ submuetrack/startseite/
Project sheet
09_Projektblatt_SubµTrack_ENG_2018.pdf

RAU

Tyre Wear in the Environment
August 2017
January 2021

Plastics in the environment are an increasingly serious challenge. As macroplastics deteriorate, such as through tire abrasion, the resulting microplastics can enter the aquatic environment through a variety of entry points. As vehicle traffic increases, there is an inevitable increase in microplastics from worn tires ending up in the environment.

Website
https://www.siwawi.tu-berlin.de/menue/forschung/rau/parameter/en/
Project sheet
02_Projektblatt_RAU_ENG_2018.pdf
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