Sample purification

This project determines sources and sinks of microplastic in the Warnow river basin, as well as relevant dissemination processes on its way to the open Baltic Sea. Separate models will be linked so that the resulting model covers the entire river basin including estuary and coastal waters.

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

The spread of microplastics in rivers shows that along a given waterway there are sources as well as sinks. Thus, dams and reservoirs constitute important but until now hardly investigated parts of a water system that serve as examples for risk vs. usefulness of sedimentation of microplastics.

This project systematically detects emissions of plastics into wastewater from relevant industries. Emissions levels will be analysed along all points of the value chain (production, transport, processing, and cleaning of synthetic materials).

The REPLAWA project covers questions of water resource protection in connection with wastewater treatment. The project will investigate and quantitatively assess entry points into water bodies through treatment plants, storm water drainage, and combined sewer overflows as well as swales at treatment facilities and in sewage sludge.

Since it is technically and economically impossible to reduce the amount of plastic waste in oceans, solutions to cut the entry of such substances into the environment must be developed. Developing countries, however, often lack land-based approaches to such solutions.

The methods currently available for the analysis of microplastics in environmental matrices are primarily designed for particles in the size range of 1 μm to 5 mm. Smaller particles below 1 μm have hardly been detected so far. 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.

The common element of all investigations in PLASTRAT is the development of solution strategies for sustainable limitation of the spread of plastic residues in the aquatic environment on technical, environmental, scientific and social-ecological levels. The objective consists of developing a multi-criteria evaluation approach for the environmental compatibility of different types of plastics.