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. 2021 Jun 3;18(11):6027.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18116027.

Degradation of Polyvinyl Alcohol in US Wastewater Treatment Plants and Subsequent Nationwide Emission Estimate

Charles Rolsky  1   2 , Varun Kelkar  1   3
Affiliations

Degradation of Polyvinyl Alcohol in US Wastewater Treatment Plants and Subsequent Nationwide Emission Estimate

Charles Rolsky et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a water-soluble plastic commercially used in laundry and dish detergent pods (LDPs) for which a complete understanding of its fate in the environment and subsequent consequences is lacking. The objective of this study was to estimate the US nationwide emissions of PVA resulting from domestic use of LDPs, corroborated by a nationwide, online consumer survey and a literature review of its fate within conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Peer-reviewed publications focusing on the degradation of PVA in critical processes of WWTPs were shortlisted as a part of the literature review, and subsequent degradation data was extracted and applied to a model with a set of assumptions. Survey and model results estimated that approximately 17,200 ± 5000 metric ton units per year (mtu/yr) of PVA are used from LDPs in the US, with 10,500 ± 3000 mtu/yr reaching WWTPs. Literature review data, when incorporated into our model, resulted in ~61% of PVA ending up in the environment via the sludge route and ~15.7% via the aqueous phase. PVA presence in the environment, regardless of its matrix, is a threat to the ecosystem due to the potential mobilization of heavy metals and other hydrophilic contaminants.

Keywords: biodegradation; dish detergent; laundry; mass loads; microbes; polyvinyl alcohol; wastewater.

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Conflict of interest statement

The funders had no role in the design of the study; collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; writing of the manuscript; or decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Increasing number of publications per year focusing on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as well as a pie chart depicting percentage distribution of PVA applications [3] and (B) the chemical structure for partially hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohol-acetate.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mass balance of PVA in a conventional activated sludge treatment plant, considering clarifier efficiencies and biodegradation efficiencies. Numbers in red indicate the percentage of PVA in respective treatment streams, and numbers in green represent the amount (% absolute) of degraded PVA in respective sections. RAS and WAS represent return activated sludge and waste activated sludge, respectively. Numbers in parentheses represent the degradation efficiencies of respective sections.
Figure 3
Figure 3
PVA emissions across the U.S. in mtu/yr. The left panel is the spatial distribution of untreated PVA via wastewater that does not reach the treatment plants. The right panel represents the PVA from WWTP effluent streams, including aqueous and sludge disposal routes.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Modeled PVA usage and emissions in metric tons per year (mtu/yr) in the US.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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