{"title":"Microplastics in wastewater and sludge from centralized industrial wastewater treatment plants in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam","authors":"Thuy-Chung Kieu-Le , Tan-Phong Ngo , Minh-Thanh Lai , Ngoc-Huyen Pham , Ngoc-Bao-Tran Nguyen , Phuoc-Dan Nguyen , Thi-Minh-Tam Le , Emilie Strady","doi":"10.1016/j.cscee.2025.101276","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Microplastic pollution is a growing concern, with wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) acting as both barriers and sources. This study quantified microplastics in two centralized industrial WWTPs in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Microplastic concentrations ranged from 0.3 to 40.4 items L<sup>−1</sup> in wastewater and 29.6–92.0 items g<sup>−1</sup> dry weight in sludge, predominantly fibres. Despite high removal efficiencies, 1.7 × 10<sup>6</sup> microplastics were discharged daily. Potential risks from sludge were also discussed. Robust multivariate regression analysis of 43 WWTPs worldwide underscored the influent concentrations as the strongest predictor influencing effluent concentrations and offering insights into potential evidence-based strategies aligned with Vietnam's 2030 plastic reduction goals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34388,"journal":{"name":"Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 101276"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666016425001835","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Environmental Science","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Microplastic pollution is a growing concern, with wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) acting as both barriers and sources. This study quantified microplastics in two centralized industrial WWTPs in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Microplastic concentrations ranged from 0.3 to 40.4 items L−1 in wastewater and 29.6–92.0 items g−1 dry weight in sludge, predominantly fibres. Despite high removal efficiencies, 1.7 × 106 microplastics were discharged daily. Potential risks from sludge were also discussed. Robust multivariate regression analysis of 43 WWTPs worldwide underscored the influent concentrations as the strongest predictor influencing effluent concentrations and offering insights into potential evidence-based strategies aligned with Vietnam's 2030 plastic reduction goals.