Keywords
treatment wetlands; microplastics; ecosystem services; pollution; microplastic removal
Abstract
Plastics are a highly utilized material in modem society, leading to environmental concerns surrounding plastic pollution. Microplastics, which are defined as plastic particles less than 5mm in size, have additionally become increasingly recognized as a harmful pollutant in aquatic systems. Constructed treatment wetland systems (CTWSs) are highly effective at removal and mitigation of pollutants, including anthropogenic nutrient inputs. This study aims to understand the potential of a CTWS to remove microplastic pollution from tertiary-treated municipal wastewater before discharge into a local natural water body. Microplastic percent removal was determined through the manual quantification of microplastics in triplicate 500mL surface water samples, taken at both an influent and effluent site. Samples were vacuum filtered and particles within the sample were caught on the 0.45μm pore size nitrocellulose filter paper, dried, and transported to a microscope station where microplastics could be identified and quantified according to visual characteristics. Results indicate the CTWS studied is removing, on average, 93 % of microplastic particles across 11 months of data collection, demonstrating an additional ecosystem service provided by treatment wetlands.
Thesis Completion Year
2024
Thesis Completion Semester
Spring
Thesis Chair
Chambers, Lisa
College
College of Sciences
Department
Department of Biology
Thesis Discipline
Biology
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus Access
None
Campus Location
Orlando (Main) Campus
STARS Citation
Johnsen, Katherine L., "The Effectiveness of Constructed Treatment Wetland Systems at Removing Microplastic Pollution" (2024). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 98.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/98
Rights Statement
