Transformation of carbon dots by ultraviolet irradiation, ozonation, and chlorination processes: Kinetics and mechanisms

Author(s):  
Mengyao Shen ◽  
Jingyi Wu ◽  
Yuzheng He ◽  
Guoguang Liu ◽  
Yiping Feng

As a new carbon nanomaterial, carbon dots (CDs) with unique physicochemical and luminescent properties have wide-ranging applications. Once released into the water and wastewater treatment plants, CDs will undergo physicochemical...

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Murray ◽  
Banu Örmeci

Microplastics and nanoplastics are abundant in the environment, and the fate and impact of nanoplastics are of particular interest because of their small size. Wastewater treatment plants are a sink for nanoplastics, and large quantities of nanoplastics are discharged into surface waters through wastewater as well as stormwater effluents. There is a need to understand the fate and removal of nanoplastics during water, wastewater, and stormwater treatment, and this study investigated their removal on a bench-scale using synthesized nanoplastics (<400 nm) to allow controlled experiments. Plastic particles were created in the lab to control their size, and bench-scale dewatering devices were tested for their ability to remove these particles. Filtration with a 0.22 μm filter removed 92 ± 3% of the particles, centrifugation at 10,000 rpm (670,800 g) for 10 min removed 99 ± 1% of the particles, and ballasted flocculation removed 88 ± 3%. These results provide a general idea of the magnitude of the removal of nanoplastics with separation processes, and more work is recommended to determine the degree of removal with full-scale unit processes. Even though the removal was good using all three treatments, smaller particles escaping treatment may increase the nanoplastics concentration of receiving water bodies and impact aquatic ecosystems.


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