English Abstract
Abstract:
Microplastic is widely spread in various segments of the environment, such as water and soil. The
pollution caused by these particles is worldwide becoming an increasing environmental concern.
Potential impacts on human health have been reported and still there are many doubts and
mechanistic approaches need to be investigated. The ultimate sink of this ubiquitous and numerous
other pollutants is water bodies. Therefore, its determination and quantification in water bodies
and remediation therefrom is utmost important. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play a
pivotal role in the release of microplastics (MPs) into the marine environment. This study
investigated the occurrence of MPs in the receiving water flow at a facility of WWTP in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It also assessed the fate of MPs by examining the abundance,
morphology, and polymer type at the end of each treatment process. Identification and
quantification of MPs were carried out by fluorescence microscopic observation upon application
of Nile Red staining technique as well as Raman spectroscopic analysis. The study confirmed the
presence of 610 particles/L in the influent, which was reduced by 64.4% in the final effluent. The
secondary treatment was shown to have the highest removal efficiency for MPs with a reduction
rate of 54.6%. Fibers were the dominant shape of MPs in wastewater samples and were found to
be retained by the treatment processes. Among the identified polymers were polyethylene,
polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride. There is a substantial need for standardization
of methodologies to validate the comparison of available datasets with regard to MP contamination. Future studies should investigate the potential impacts of the exposure of humans and other organisms to MPs via the reuse applications of wastewate.
