정수장에서 미세플라스틱 분포 특성 = Characteristics of microplastics distribution at water treatment plants

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The number, size, and material distribution of microplastics (MPs) sized 20-200 μm in the raw water and water treatment processes were analyzed using FT-IR in three water treatment plants in Jeju Province. The number of MPs was detected at 0.075-0.620 MP/L in raw water and 0.040-0.047 MP/L in filtered water, which is relatively lower than the results of other studies. Regarding the size of MPs, particles sized 20-50 µm in both the raw water and the treated water accounted for the highest proportion, representing 65.6% and 56.3% of the total, respectively. In terms of MPs type distribution, polypropylene (PP) was analyzed as the main type at 58.7%. In the water purification process, the MPs removal efficiency was the highest at 93.5% in the sedimentation + rapid filtration process, followed by 58.4% in the membrane filtration and 40.0% in the slow filtration process. Continuous monitoring of the distribution of MPs in raw water and water treatment processes is recommended.