[Effects of Land Use Patterns on Soil Microplastic Pollution in the Luoshijiang Sub-watershed of Erhai Lake Basin].

Microplastic pollution in the soil environment has received extensive attention, but the effects of different land use patterns on the sub-watershed scale on soil microplastic pollution are poorly understood. The Luoshijiang sub-watershed in the north of Erhai Lake was selected as the research object, and the characteristics of microplastic pollution in farmland, riparian zone, grassland, and woodland soils were analyzed. The pollution risks of microplastics in the four types of soil were assessed using the polymer risk index method, and the effects of land use patterns on the distribution and risk of microplastic pollution were further explored. The results showed that:① The abundance of microplastics in the soil of the Luoshijiang sub-watershed ranged from 220 to 1 900 n·kg-1, and the average abundance was (711 ± 55) n·kg-1. The main polymer types were polyester (PES, 32.52%) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET, 21.95%). The particle size of microplastics was concentrated in the range of 0.5-2 mm (61.89%). Fiber was the main shape of microplastics (>75%), and the dominant color was transparent (58.50%). ② Land use patterns determined the abundance and pollution characteristics of soil microplastics in the Luoshijiang sub-watershed. A significantly higher abundance of microplastics was found in the soil of farmland[(885 ± 95) n·kg-1] and riparian zone[(837 ± 155) n·kg-1], which had stronger intensities of human activity, than that in woodland soil[(491 ± 53) n·kg-1] (P<0.05). Film and fragment microplastics mainly occurred in farmland soil, which also had the largest number of polymer types and the most abundant colors. ③ The risk index level of microplastics (Level Ⅲ) in the soil of farmland was higher than that of the other three land use patterns (Level Ⅰ). This research indicated that the higher the intensity of human activities of a sub-watershed was, the more complex the occurrence characteristics of soil microplastics, the richer the types of polymers, and the higher the potential pollution risks would be. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the control of soil microplastic pollution in farmland.

[Effects of Wastewater Treatment Processes on the Removal Efficiency of Microplastics Based on Meta-analysis].

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous emerging pollutants that have been found in the marine, freshwater, air, and soil environments. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play an important role in releasing MPs to the environment. Therefore, understanding the occurrence, fate, and removal mechanism of MPs in WWTPs is of great importance towards microplastic control. In this review, the occurrence characteristics and removal rates of MPs in 78 WWTPs from 57 studies were discussed based on Meta-analysis. Specifically, the key aspects regarding MPs removal in WWTPs, such as wastewater treatment processes and MPs shapes, sizes, and polymer compositions were analyzed and compared. The results showed that:① the abundances of MPs in the influent and effluent were 1.56×10-2-3.14×104 n·L-1 and 1.70×10-3-3.09×102 n·L-1, respectively. The abundance of MPs in the sludge ranged from 1.80×10-1 to 9.38×103 n·g-1. ② The total removal rate (>90%) of MPs by WWTPs using oxidation ditch, biofilm, and conventional activated sludge treatment processes was higher than that using sequencing batch activated sludge, anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic, and anoxic-aerobic processes. ③ The removal rate of MPs in primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment process were 62.87%, 55.78%, and 58.45%, respectively. The combination process of "grid+ sedimentation tank+primary sedimentation tank" had the highest removal rate towards MPs in primary treatment processes, and the membrane bioreactor had the highest one beyond other secondary treatment processes. Filtration was the best process in tertiary treatment. ④ The film, foam, and fragment MPs were easier to remove (>90%) than fiber and spherical (<90%) MPs by WWTPs. The MPs with particle size larger than 0.5 mm were easier to remove than those with particle size smaller than 0.5 mm. The removal efficiencies of polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polypropylene (PP) MPs were higher than 80%.

[Simplification of biotic ligand model and evaluation of predicted results].

The prediction accuracy of LC50 on four species (Fathead minnow, D. magna, D. pulex, Rainbow trout) was 0. 075, 0. 52, 0.96 and 0.29 respectively as determined by their onserved values of LC50 in surface water. Predicted results indicated that the correlation between forecast error and LA50 was exponential. The accuracy of Fathead minnow and Rainbow trout became 0.59 and 0.42 after adjusting LA50. The correlation between hardness and LA50 showed that the prediction effectiveness of BLM was poor in soft water. In addition, four important parameters (DOC, pH values, the concentration of HCO3-, temperature) were selected to build the multiple linear relationship with LC50 by applying 500 groups of random uniform water quality parameter in BLM. Biotic ligand model was effectively simplified.

[Predicting copper toxicity to Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and Ctenopharyngodon idellus based on biotic ligand model].

A series of 96 h copper acute toxicity experiments were conducted with Ctenopharyngodon idellus and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix under different concentrations of DOC [ρ(DOC) 0.05, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 mg · L(-1)]. Higher DOC resulted in a reduction of toxicity, which was in line with the concepts of the biotic ligand model (BLM). It was concluded that the mean absolute deviation (MAD) of LC50 with Ctenopharyngodon idellus and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix was 591.2, 157.14 µg · L(-1) and 728.18, 91.24 µg x L(-1), respectively, by the prediction of copper BLM developed for Fathead minnow and Rainbow trout. Based on speciation analysis of biotic ligand model, it was shown that LA50 values of Ctenopharyngodon idellus and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix were 10.960 and 3.978 nmol · g(-1), respectively. Then the MAD values became 280.52 and 92.25 µg · L(-1) for Ctenopharyngodon idellus and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix using the normalized LA50. Finally by searching toxicity data in literature, the MAD values on Ctenopharyngodon idellus and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix were 252.37 and 50.26 µg · L(-1), successively. This result verified that the toxicity prediction based on biotic ligand model was practical.