Professor Agnieszka Cydzik-Kwiatkowska, together with a team from the Department of Biotechnology in Environmental Protection at the University of Warmia and Mazury (UWM) in Olsztyn, is carrying out a project “Removal of microplastics in an integrated aerobic granular sludge – membrane filtration system and the influence of microplastics on biomass structure and activity”. The National Science Centre has allocated a grant of almost PLN 1.23 million for this research. 

The effectiveness of a two-stage wastewater treatment system in removing microplastic from car tyre abrasion is being investigated.

The novelty of the idea is not only in the juxtaposition of aerobic granule technology with membrane filtration, but also in determining the effect of microplastic and the substances eluted from it on the activity and microbiological composition of the granules. This will identify the mechanisms for the removal of microplastic and eluted compounds from wastewater and identify the microorganisms involved in the process.