20.500.12556/DKUM-92143 When technology meets sustainability: microplastic removal from industrial wastewater, including impact analysis and life cycle assessment Microplastics (MPs) that are ubiquitous in aquatic environments and industrial wastewater streams have been identified as key hotspots of MP contamination. It is significantly more effective to remove MPs at these points before they enter municipal wastewater streams. This study is an environmental assessment of a novel pilot plant for the removal of MPs and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) from wastewater with a high MP contamination from a plastics manufacturer in Germany. MP removal is based on physical–chemical agglomeration–fixation by organosilanes. Formed agglomerates are separated using a belt filter. The COD is removed by an adsorption process. The resulting MP removal was 98.0 ± 1.1% by mass and 99.9987 ± 0.0007% by particle count, while the COD was reduced by 96 ± 2.7%. The system’s sustainability is evaluated using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, evaluating system construction, operation, and end-of-life considerations. The current pilot plant is also compared to an optimized circular and sustainable upgrade, where drivers of environmental burdens are eliminated and collected MPs are reused. Significant reductions in environmental impact categories are achieved and the global warming potential is reduced by 96%. This study provides a sustainability assessment of a novel technology and circular solution to remove MPs from highly polluted industrial wastewater. microplastics life cycle assessment impact analysis removal technology sustainable process design carbon footprint water quality circular economy mikroplastika življenjski krog analiza vpliva ogljični odtis kvaliteta vode true false true MDPI Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik https://www.mdpi.com/journal/water © 2025 by the authors Članek v reviji 2025-03-14 08:55:20 2025-03-14 08:55:20 2026-01-09 08:53:41 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 21 str. št. 5, št. članka 671 let. 17 feb. 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 2025-01-24 2025-02-21 2025-02-25 66 228961283 2073-4441 water-17-00671.pdf water-17-00671.pdf 1 D8E427339AC14A7DB6216FA8A6426E5C 071b0cdd08eaf5bd68c9ec99cd1812f62d20fbf498d5cd5de928218ca5a9ee62 3fbdf7db-00aa-11f0-9c63-00155d000105 https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=189354 https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/17/5/671 0 05af5bc2-ed30-11f0-8729-00155d580e02 https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=201855 Fakulteta za kemijo in kemijsko tehnologijo 0 0 0