Influence of sediment texture on HDPE microplastics recovery by density separation

Maisto, Maria Antonia; Ranauda, Maria Antonietta; Zuzolo, Daniela; Tartaglia, Maria Carmela; Postiglione, Alessia; Prigioniero, Antonello; Falzarano, Alessandra; Scarano, Pierpaolo; Sciarrillo, Rosaria; Guarino, Carmine

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115363

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 60 publications

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“…The Munich Plastic Separation System (MPSS) achieved almost perfect recoveries of polymers, but it was expensive and custom made, and is no longer being produced commercially. In addition, it is highly unlikely that a singular method can be developed to extract microplastics from all sediment types (20).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Separation of microplastics from deep-sea sediment using an affordable, simple to use, and easily accessible density separation device

Shaw,

Sandquist,

Fairclough

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Microplastics accumulate in the environment but methods to extract particles from sediment for quantification and identification often lack accuracy and reproducibility. Existing methods vary greatly and many do not achieve adequate microplastic separation. During method development for extraction procedures, spike-recovery experiments (positive controls) are essential to ensure accurate and reproducible results from each sample matrix. Furthermore, the large variability in grain size and organic matter can affect the extraction of microplastics from the matrix; thus, no one method will likely work for all sample types. Scientists have used density separation to separate microplastics from matrices for decades, but apparatuses are often made of plastic, need to be custom made, and require multiple sample transfers from one apparatus to another. This study presents an affordable, easily accessible, and simple to use Density Separation Device (DSD) to remove plastics from deep-sea sediments. Eight polymers were spiked into replicates of environmental sediment, including six fragments: high density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS), PA6 (PA6), and crumb rubber (CR) and two fibers: cellulose acetate (CA) and polyester (PEST). Two size classes of polymers were used: 100 μm to 300 μm and >300 μm. Using a sodium polytungstate solution as the dense liquid and reflectance FTIR microscopy for particle identification, recoveries of all fragments exceeded 78 % ( CR: 92.7 % ± 30.8 %, PP: 78.4 % ± 34.0 %, HDPE: 93.8 % ± 13.5 %, PS: 86.9 % ± 25.7 %, PA6: 98.4 % ± 63.2 %, PVC: 100.0 % ± 12.4 %,. Fiber recovery was much lower (PEST: 28.1 % ± 28.1 % and CA: 25.9 % ± 17.3 %) because they aggregated, passed through sieves vertically, or were obscured under other particles. The non-spiked sediment replicates were found to contain PE, PP, PEST, and polycarbonate (PC). The fragment recovery success, accessibility (available online, all parts under $200) and ease of use of this DSD should facilitate widespread use, thus helping to standardize sample preparation methods for microplastic metrology.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Separation of microplastics from deep-sea sediment using an affordable, simple to use, and easily accessible density separation device

Shaw,

Sandquist,

Fairclough

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Comparison of two procedures for microplastics analysis in sediments based on an interlaboratory exercise

et al. 2023

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Evaluating the effectiveness of the MicroPlastic Sediment Separator (MPSS)

Prume,

Laermanns,

Löder

et al. 2023

Micropl.&Nanopl.

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Effective laboratory methods are a requirement to obtain accurate data on the contamination of the environment with microplastics. However, current methods often lack specification and validation of performance. The aim of this work was to provide the first evaluation of the effectiveness of the commercially available MicroPlastic Sediment Separator (MPSS) operated with sodium chloride. We performed density separation experiments with pristine plastic particles spiked into both commercial sand (experiment I) and natural river sediments (experiment II) and with environmental microplastics contained in natural river sediments (experiment III). The natural sediments were taken from the Lahn River in Germany, a medium-scale central European tributary. The pristine test particles were ground polypropylene fragments, sieved in three different size classes: larger than 1 mm, 0.5–1 mm, and 0.3–0.5 mm. In experiment I, the mean recovery rate was 97 % for particles of the largest size class (standard deviation $$s=6~\%$$ s = 6 % ; $$n=30$$ n = 30 per size class), but dropped to 75.33 % ($$s=21.29~\%$$ s = 21.29 % ) in the medium and to 54 % ($$s=25~\%$$ s = 25 % ) in the smallest size class. After density separation, 87 % of all unsuccessfully separated test particles were found at the inner walls of the MPSS. In experiment II, the recovery rate was not correlated with the particle size distribution of the natural river sediments. In experiment III, a subsequent second density separation step contributed on average 38 % ($$s=18~\%$$ s = 18 % ; $$n=5$$ n = 5 ) to the total number of extracted environmental microplastics. This study illuminates central aspects of a density separation and aims to contribute to quality improvements of recovery rate experiments and field studies for the generation of reliable data on microplastics in the environment.

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Influence of sediment texture on HDPE microplastics recovery by density separation

Cited by 4 publications

References 60 publications

Separation of microplastics from deep-sea sediment using an affordable, simple to use, and easily accessible density separation device

Separation of microplastics from deep-sea sediment using an affordable, simple to use, and easily accessible density separation device

Comparison of two procedures for microplastics analysis in sediments based on an interlaboratory exercise

Evaluating the effectiveness of the MicroPlastic Sediment Separator (MPSS)

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