| 1. |
- Brodin, Malin, et al.
(författare)
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Filters for washing machines : Mitigation of microplastic pollution
- 2018
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This report describes filters for washing machines designed to remove either microplastic fibres or lint from laundry water and investigates possibilities and challenges with such filters from a practical and environmental perspective. The report includes results from a literature study and a laboratory study. Other studies on microplastics from laundry water are summarized briefly. It can be concluded that filtering solutions for washing machines which claim to remove lint and microplastic fibres can be purchased and installed. Three of the filtering solutions were tested in laboratory washing trials and were found to retain some of the microplastic, hence decreasing the amount of microplastic released with the laundry water. The retention was most profound the first time the new fabric was washed. To judge exactly how well the filters remove microplastics during realistic domestic washing conditions would require more comprehensive laboratory work. It is also necessary to further investigate how efficient the filters should be to present an alternative that is technologically, economically feasible as well as environmentally beneficial. Although the filters may retain microplastic fibres it may be necessary to design filtering solutions that are sufficiently user-friendly so that the filters are not by-passed by the user, and that there are good options for emptying or replacing the filters.
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| 2. |
- Brodin, Malin, et al.
(författare)
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Microplastics from industrial laundries - A laboratory study of laundry effluents
- 2018
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- There is little knowledge about the release of microplastics from industrial laundries. This study was carried out to provide information about microplastics released in waste water from laundries. Six Swedish industrial laundries participated in the study. Of these two mainly washed hospital laundry, two mainly work wear, one mainly hotel laundry and one mainly mats. Small particles between 5-15 μm were dominant in this study, regardless of types of textiles washed or whether the laundry had a waste water treatment facility. From the microscopic, FTIR and SEM analyses it could be concluded that microplastics were not dominant in this size range. Most of the particles (in the 5 to 15 μm range) were of other materials (for example minerals, metal fragments, silica, aluminium silicate, yeast, starch). From the results from the measurements, calculations were made to estimate the number of released microplastic particles. The release varied significantly between the different laundries. If the calculations were based on an assumed best-case scenario, between 5 000 and 4 550 000 of microplastic particles were released per kg of washed textile. If a worst-case scenario was assumed, between 15 000 and 5 375 000 microplastic particles were released per kg of washed textile. Three laundries with either chemical or biological waste water treatment adjacent to the production facilities were involved in the study. The water treatment had a significant impact on reducing the numbers of particles. The numbers of fibre-shaped particles released were reduced by 65, 96 and 97% for the different facilities. This shows that waste water treatment at the laundry can be an efficient way of reducing the levels of particles released to the WWTP.
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| 3. |
- Schellenberger, Steffen, et al.
(författare)
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Release of Side-Chain Fluorinated Polymer-Containing Microplastic Fibers from Functional Textiles During Washing and First Estimates of Perfluoroalkyl Acid Emissions.
- 2019
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 53:24, s. 14329-14338
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The quantity and composition of fibers released from functional textiles during accelerated washing were investigated using the GyroWash method. Two fabrics [polyamide (PA) and polyester/cotton (PES/CO)] were selected and coated with perfluorohexane-based side-chain fluorinated polymers. Fibers released during washing ranged from ∼10 to 500 μ with a similar distribution for the two textile types. The PA-based fabric released considerably more fibers >20 μm in length compared to the PES/CO-based fabric (>1000/GyroWash for PA vs ∼200/GyroWash fibers for PES/CO). After one GyroWash (2-15 domestic washes), fibers that contained approximately 240 and 1300 μg total fluorine per square meter (μg F/m2) were released from the PA and PES/CO fabrics, respectively. Current understanding of the fate of microplastic fibers suggests that a large fraction of these fibers reach the environment either in effluent wastewater or sewage sludge applied to land. In the environment, the fluorinated side chains will be slowly cleaved from the backbone of the side-chain fluorinated polymers coated on the fibers and then transformed into short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids. On the European scale, emissions of up to ∼0.7 t of fluorotelomer alcohol (6:2 FTOH) per year were estimated for outdoor rain jackets treated with fluorotelomer-based side-chain fluorinated polymers.
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