New Insights into Microplastic Contamination in Different Types of Leachates: Abundances, Characteristics, and Potential Sources
Lei Zhang,
Wentao Zhao,
Liang Zhang,
Zhenxiao Cai,
Ruiqi Yan,
Xia Yu,
Damià Barceló,
Qian Sui
Affiliations
Lei Zhang
State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Wentao Zhao
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China
Liang Zhang
PerkinElmer, Inc., Shanghai 201203, China
Zhenxiao Cai
Maihai Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China
Ruiqi Yan
State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Xia Yu
State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Damià Barceló
Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Spanish Council for Scientific Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona 08034, Spain
Qian Sui
State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China; Corresponding author.
Municipal solid waste (MSW) is an important destination for abandoned plastics. During the waste disposal process, large plastic debris is broken down into microplastics (MPs) and released into the leachate. However, current research only focuses on landfill leachates, and the occurrence of MPs in other leachates has not been studied. Therefore, herein, the abundance and characteristics of MPs in three types of leachates, namely, landfill leachate, residual waste leachate, and household food waste leachate, were studied, all leachates were collected from the largest waste disposal center in China. The results showed that the average MP abundances in the different types of leachates ranged from (129 ± 54) to (1288 ± 184) MP particles per liter (particles·L−1) and the household food waste leachate exhibited the highest MP abundance (p 80%) of small MPs (20–100 μm) in landfill leachates compared to other leachates. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study discussing the sources of MPs in different leachates, which is important for MP pollution control during MSW disposal.
