ABSTRACT
In recent years, plastic pollution in the environment has also increased due to the increasing production and consumption of plastics worldwide. The presence of microplastics (MPs) in the environment from different sources is observed almost everywhere, especially in aquatic environments. A standard method for sampling, identification, and quantification of MPs in wastewater has not yet been established. In this study, it was aimed to determine the MPs and their characteristics in the effluent of an advanced biological domestic wastewater treatment plant. The seasonal changes of MPs in a year were revealed. Pre-treatments suitable for the studied wastewater were developed for visual determination of MPs. Fibers are the dominant type of MPs, with numbers ranging between 32.0 and 95.5 particle/L. MPs in five different polymer structures were determined by FTIR analysis. These are Polyethylene, Polypropylene, Polyester, Polyurethane and Polyethylene terephthalate. The results were evaluated according to QA/QC and determined to meet the standards.
Subject(s)
Environmental Monitoring , Microplastics , Waste Disposal, Fluid , Wastewater , Water Pollutants, Chemical , Wastewater/chemistry , Microplastics/analysis , Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis , Environmental Monitoring/methods , Plastics/analysisABSTRACT
Boron is an essential nutrient for plants and an essential element for many organisms, but can be toxic to aquatic and terrestrial organisms above certain concentrations. The aim of this research was to determine boron concentrations in water, sediment and biotic samples (Gammaridae spp.-Crustacea, Helix sp.-Gastropoda, Donax sp.-Bivalvia, Helobdella sp.-Hirudinae, Ephemeroptera nymph, Chrinomidae larvae, Tipulidae larvae-Insecta, Rana sp.-Amphibia, Natrix sp.-Serpentes, fish sample Leiscus cephalus (Linnaeus, 1758) and leaves of Salix sp.-Salicacea from Seydi Stream (Kirka-Eskisehir). Our results have shown that boron concentrations of the Seydi Stream water is higher than the Turkish Environmental Guidelines standard (>1 mg L(-1)) and in Europe (mean values typically below 0.6 mg L(-1)).
