Fate of cellulose in primary and secondary treatment at municipal water resource recovery facilities.

Cellulose from toilet paper is a significant fraction of particulate organics, which is recoverable. For the first time, comprehensive mapping and tracking the fate of cellulose across various unit processes at full-scale in two water resource recovery facilities located in North America and Europe was undertaken. The influent cellulose content accounted for approximately one-third of the total suspended solids (TSS).