Implementation of new analytical method for qualitative analysis of microplastics in the water environment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35933/ENTECHO.2020.004Keywords:
microplastics, hydrogen peroxide, microfiltrationAbstract
Occurrence of plastics in the natural environment is one of the hot topics in the area of environmental studies due to the ocean contamination and insufficient amount of plastics' recycling. Microplastics which cannot be seen by the naked eye are not effectively removed from the water during drinking water treatment and afterwards they enter the human body through the digestive tract. Even though there is no evidence of harmful effects on health, it is assumed that the presence of microplastics in water will be monitored. Our work was aimed on the development of a methodology for the pretreatment of synthetic microfibers based microplastics followed by their subsequent infrared analysis, which can be routine performed in laboratories. Microfibers were subjected to various thermal and oxidative conditions, where hydrogen peroxide was used as an oxidizing agent. Effects of the exposure on changes in chemical structure and colour of fibres were analysed. Optimal exposure conditions for plastic microfibers' pretreatment concerns the exposure in 30% solution of hydrogen peroxide at 60 °C for 8 hours followed by infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR). We believe that our results can be utilized for the creating complex methodology of qualitative and quantitative microplastics' evaluation.
References
Arthur, C.; Baker, J.; Bamford, H. (Ed.), 2009. Proceedings of the international research workshop on microplastic marine debris, NOAA Technical Memorandum. NOAA Marine Debris Division, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
Browne, M. A.; Crump, P.; Niven, S. J.; Teuten, E.; Tonkin, A.; Galloway, T.; Thompson, R., 2011. Accumulation of microplastic on shorelines woldwide: Sources and sinks. Environ. Sci. Technol. 45(21), 9175–9179. https://doi.org/10.1021/es201811s
Cole, M.; Lindeque, P.; Halsband, C.; Galloway, T. S., 2011. Microplastics as contaminants in the marine environment: A review. Marine Pollution Bulletin 62(12), 2588–2597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.09.025
Cox, K. D.; Covernton, G. A.; Davies, H. L.; Dower, J. F.; Juanes, F.; Dudas, S. E., 2019. Human consumption of microplastics. Environ. Sci. Technol. 53(12), 7068–7074. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b01517
EC, 2018. A European strategy for plastics in a circular economy (Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European economic and social committee and the Committee of the regions). European Commission, Brussel.
Eerkes-Medrano, D.; Thompson, R. C.; Aldridge, D. C., 2015. Microplastics in freshwater systems: A review of the emerging threats, identification of knowledge gaps and prioritisation of research needs. Water Research 75, 63–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2015.02.012
Eriksen, M.; Mason, S.; Wilson, S.; Box, C.; Zellers, A.; Edwards, W.; Farley, H.; Amato, S., 2013. Microplastic pollution in the surface waters of the Laurentian Great Lakes. Marine Pollution Bulletin 77(1), 177–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.10.007
Free, C. M.; Jensen, O. P.; Mason, S. A.; Eriksen, M.; Williamson, N. J.; Boldgiv, B., 2014. High-levels of microplastic pollution in a large, remote, mountain lake. Marine Pollution Bulletin 85(1), 156–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.06.001
Frias, J. P. G. L.; Nash, R., 2019. Microplastics: Finding a consensus on the definition. Marine Pollution Bulletin 138, 145–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.11.022
Galloway, T. S., 2015. Micro- and Nano-plastics and Human Health, In: Bergmann, M.; Gutow, L.; Klages, M. (Ed.), Marine Anthropogenic Litter. Springer International Publishing, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16510-3_13
Geyer, R.; Jambeck, J. R.; Law, K. L., 2017. Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made. Science Advances 3(7), e1700782. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700782
Gigault, J.; Halle, A. ter; Baudrimont, M.; Pascal, P.-Y.; Gauffre, F.; Phi, T.-L.; El Hadri, H.; Grassl, B.; Reynaud, S., 2018. Current opinion: What is a nanoplastic? Environmental Pollution 235, 1030–1034. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.01.024
Kožíšek, F.; Kazmarová, H., 2019. Mikroplasty v životním prostředí a zdraví. Vodní hospodářství 69(9), 1–3.
Leslie, H. A.; Brandsma, S. H.; van Velzen, M. J. M.; Vethaak, A. D., 2017. Microplastics en route: Field measurements in the Dutch river delta and Amsterdam canals, wastewater treatment plants, North Sea sediments and biota. Environment International 101, 133–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2017.01.018
Mason, S. A.; Garneau, D.; Sutton, R.; Chu, Y.; Ehmann, K.; Barnes, J.; Fink, P.; Papazissimos, D.; Rogers, D. L., 2016. Microplastic pollution is widely detected in US municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent. Environmental Pollution 218, 1045–1054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.08.056
Mintenig, S. M.; Int-Veen, I.; Löder, M. G. J.; Primpke, S.; Gerdts, G., 2017. Identification of microplastic in effluents of waste water treatment plants using focal plane array-based micro-Fouriertransform infrared imaging. Water Research 108, 365–372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2016.11.015
Mintenig, S. M.; Löder, M. G. J.; Primpke, S.; Gerdts, G., 2019. Low numbers of microplastics detected in drinking water from ground water sources. Science of The Total Environment 648, 631-635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.178
Oßmann, B. E.; Sarau, G.; Holtmannspötter, H.; Pischetsrieder, M.; Christiansen, S. H.; Dicke, W., 2018. Small-sized microplastics and pigmented particles in bottled mineral water. Water Research 141, 307–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2018.05.027
Peets, P.; Kaupmees, K.; Vahur, S.; Leito, I., 2019. Reflectance FT-IR spectroscopy as a viable option for textile fiber identification. Herit Sci 7(1), 93. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-019-0337-z
Pivokonský, M.; Čermáková, L.; Novotná, K.; Peer, P.; Cajthaml, T.; Janda, V., 2018. Occurrence of microplastics in raw and treated drinking water. Science of The Total Environment 643, 1644–1651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.102
Powell, J. J.; Faria, N.; Thomas-McKay, E.; Pele, L. C., 2010. Origin and fate of dietary nanoparticles and microparticles in the gastrointestinal tract. Journal of Autoimmunity, The Environment, Geoepidemiology and Autoimmune Disease 34(3), J226–J233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaut.2009.11.006
Prata, J. C., 2018. Airborne microplastics: Consequences to human health? Environmental Pollution 234, 115–126.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.11.043
Ryan, P. G., 2015. A brief history of marine litter research, In: Bergmann, M.; Gutow, L.; Klages, M. (Ed.), Marine Anthropogenic Litter. Springer International Publishing, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16510-3_1
Shaw, D. G.; Day, R. H., 1994. Colour- and form-dependent loss of plastic micro-debris from the North Pacific Ocean. Marine Pollution Bulletin 28(1), 39–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-326X(94)90184-8
Su, L.; Xue, Y.; Li, L.; Yang, D.; Kolandhasamy, P.; Li, D.; Shi, H., 2016. Microplastics in Taihu Lake, China. Environmental Pollution 216, 711–719. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.06.036
Thompson, R. C.; Olsen, Y.; Mitchell, R. P.; Davis, A.; Rowland, S. J.; John, A. W. G.; McGonigle, D.; Russell, A. E., 2004. Lost at sea: Where is all the plastic? Science 304(5672), 838–838. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1094559
Van Cauwenberghe, L.; Devriese, L.; Galgani, F.; Robbens, J.; Janssen, C. R., 2015. Microplastics in sediments: A review of techniques, occurrence and effects. Marine Environmental Research, Particles in the Oceans: Implication for a safe marine environment 111, 5–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2015.06.007
Wright, S. L.; Kelly, F. J., 2017. Plastic and human health: A micro issue? Environ. Sci. Technol. 51(12), 6634–6647. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b00423
Wright, S. L.; Thompson, R. C.; Galloway, T. S., 2013. The physical impacts of microplastics on marine organisms: A review. Environmental Pollution 178, 483–492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2013.02.031
Záruba, K., 2016. Analytická chemie. Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická, Praha.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Robert Kvaček, Pavla Šmejkalová, Soňa Hermanová
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
