Microplastics have become a rising issue in due to its detection in oceans, rivers, and tap water. Although a large number of studies have been conducted on the detection and quantification in various water bodies, the number of research conducted on the removal and treatment of microplastics are still comparatively low. In the current research, the inflow and removal of microplastics were investigated for various drinking water treatment plants around the world. Addition to the investigation of filed research, a survey was also conducted on the current research trend on microplastic removal for different treatment processes in the drinking water treatment plants. This includes the researches conducted on coagulation/flocculation, sedimentation, dissolved air flotation, sand filtration and disinfection processes. The survey indicated mechanisms of microplastic removal in each process followed by the removal characteristics under various conditions. Limitations of current researches were also mentioned, regarding the gap between the laboratory experimental conditions and field conditions of drinking water treatment plants. We hope that the current review will aid in the understanding of current research needs in the field of microplastic removal in drinking water treatment.

현재 막여과 공정은 정수처리에서 많은 관심을 받고 있다. 그러나 막여과 공정은 저압 운전이 가능한 정밀/한외여과 분리막을 이용할 때는 효과적인 용존성 유기물 제거가 이루어지지 않으며 막오염 현상으로 분리막의 투과도 감소가 일어난다. 고압 분리막을 이용할 경우 양질의 수질은 얻을 수 있으나 고압 운전으로 인하여 운전비용의 소모가 높다. 따라서 최근 분리막의 효율적인 정수처리 적용과 성능 향상을 위해서 다른 물리화학적 공정과 결합한 혼성공정에 대한 다양한 접근이 이루어지고 있다. 본 연구에서는 혼성공정으로 응집, 흡착, 특정 화학반응, 막표면 코팅 등과 정밀/한외여과 공정을 결합한 경우의 특징, 처리효율, 고려사항 등을 고찰하였다.

The aims of this study were to investigated the occurrence of caffeine and carbamazepine in Nakdong river basin (8 mainstreams and 2 tributaries) and the behavior of caffeine and carbamazepine under drinking water treatment processes (conventional and advanced processes). The examination results showed that caffeine was detected at all sampling sites (5.4 ∼558.5 ng/L), but carbamazepine was detected at five sampling sites (5.1∼79.4 ng/L). The highest concentration level of caffeine and carbamazepine in the mainstream and tributaries in Nakdong river were Goryeong and Jinchun-cheon, respectively. These pharmaceutical products were completely removed when they were subject to conventional plus advanced processes of drinking water treatment processes. Conventional processes of coagulation, sedimentation and sand-filtration were not effective for their removal, while advanced processes of ozonation and biological activated carbon (BAC) filtration were effective. Among these pharmaceuticals, carbamazeoine was more subject to ozonation than caffeine.