Document Type

Honors Thesis

Major

Chemical Engineering

Advisor(s)

Jean MacRae

Committee Members

Douglas Bousfield, William DeSisto, Carrie Enos

Graduation Year

May 2024

Publication Date

Spring 5-2024

Abstract

In this paper, the contribution of wastewater to the cycle of microplastics in the environment is addressed. Several articles, journal papers and reliable websites were consulted for a literature review on this topic. The sources suggest that approximately 10% of the plastics in the influent exit in the effluent, and further analysis showed that the effluent wastewater and sludge produced in the USA contributes approximately 89,100 tons of plastic yearly (Basic Information about Biosolids 2023; Carr, Liu, and Tesoro 2016; Center for Sustainable Systems 2023; EPA 2023; Okoffo, Tscharke, and Thomas 2023). This outflow of plastic into the environment causes issues of accumulation in waterways which in turn causes accumulation in animals, plants, and humans. The accumulation causes health issues, but the major issue with microplastics is that they adsorb chemicals which cause worse issues like lung disease and cancer (Galloway 2015; Zarus et al. 2021; Zhang et al. 2020). The extent of these issues is addressed and while they are concerning, plausible solutions are suggested; such as implementing more thorough plastic removal systems to wastewater treatment facilities in parallel with restricted use of biosolids for compost, restricting plastic use and production with the introduction of a sustainable replacement, and continuing research to deepen understanding of the microplastics issue.

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