Fate of Microplastics in Drinking Water Treatment Plants

Rising consumer concern over microplastics has prompted studies of occurrence in both raw and treated drinking water supplies, but treatment plants exhibit varying degrees of removal, and individual processes are not well-characterized. Thus, the objective of this research is to help close this knowledge gap by profiling key unit processes and correlating treatment efficacy with microplastics attributes, water quality data, design criteria, and operational parameters, thereby informing facility optimization.