RT journal article
T1 Mapping microplastics in Cadiz (Spain): Occurrence of microplastics in municipal and industrial wastewaters
A1 Franco del Pino, Ana Amelia
A1 Arellano López, Juana María
A1 Albendín García, María Gemma
A1 Rodríguez Barroso, María del Rocío
A1 Zahedi, S.
A1 Quiroga Alonso, José María
A1 Coello Oviedo, María Dolores
A2 Anatomía PatológicaBiología Celular, Histología, Historia de la Ciencia, Medicina Legal y Forense y Toxicología
A2 Tecnologías del Medio Ambiente
K1 Microplastic pollution
K1 Municipal wastewater treatment plants
K1 Industrial wastewater treatment plants
K1 Characteristics of microplastics
AB The high concentrations of microplastics (MPs) detected in the environment point to the need to carry out studies of their occurrence and distribution worldwide. Addressing this challenge, the present study has been carried out for the province of Cadiz, Spain. To this end, the influents and effluents of 5 municipal wastewater treatment plants (representing 50 % of the total wastewater in Cadiz) and 2 industrial plants treating wastewater from an industrial estate and a large marine construction firm that builds ships and offshore platforms (5 MWWTPs and 2 IWWTPs) have been studied for the first time. MP levels were higher in IWWTPs than in MWWTPs, especially in the wastewaters from the marine construction company. Removal efficiencies ranged between 78 and 97 %. The size and shape distribution of MPs in the effluents resembled that in the influents, suggesting that no preferential removal of MPs occurred in the MWWTPs or IWWTPs with respect to shape and size. PVC, HDPE, PEMA, PP, PS and PE were the most common MPs detected in the influents of the studied WWTPs. The relative contribution of MPs (MPs/L) to the environment from the IWWTPs compared to that from the MWWTPs was found to be highly significant. Results suggested that around 8.5*1011 of MPs/year could be discharged into the environment by the treated wastewaters under study. The results of this paper comprise useful tools to obtain in-depth knowledge of MPs in different kinds of wastewater treatment plants and map an important environmental location (close to the Straits of Gibraltar linking the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea).
PB Elsevier
SN 2214-7144
YR 2020
FD 2020
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/30238
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/30238
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 07-nov-2026