Introducing a soil universal model method (SUMM) and its application for qualitative and quantitative determination of poly(ethylene), poly(styrene), poly(vinyl chloride) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) microplastics in a model soil

David, Jan; Weissmannová, Helena Doležalová; Steinmetz, Zacharias; Kabelíková, Lucie; Demyan, Michael Scott; Šimečková, Jana; Tokarski, David; Siewert, Christian; Schaumann, Gabriele E.; Kučerík, Jiří

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.03.078

Cited by 43 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…TOF-SIMS analyzed six common MPs standard samples, including poly (ethylene) (PE), poly (propylene) (PP), poly (styrene) (PS), poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC), poly (amide 6) (PA6) and poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) [16,18,20,[25][26][27][28][29]. PE pellets, PP pellets, PS pellets, PVC pellets, PA6 and PET pellets (about 30 µm) were bought from Sigma-Aldrich (Milwaukee, WI, USA).…”

Section: Standard Sample Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollution Characteristics of Microplastics in Soils in Southeastern Suburbs of Baoding City, China

Liang

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Microplastics (MPs) are emerging pollutants that exist in different environmental media. Because of their wide range and large potential environmental hazards, they have attracted widespread attention in recent years. At present, the research on MP is mostly concentrated on the water ecosystems, and the impact on soil ecosystems is less studied. In this study, 12 typical soil samples from southeastern suburbs of Baoding city were investigated and characterized by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) combined with mass high resolution mode and positive and negative ion imaging mode. Four types of MPs, poly (propylene) (PP), poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC), poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET), and poly (amide 6) (PA6), were quickly identified, of which PET and PA6 accounted for the largest proportion of both up to 30.2%; the particle size of the obtained MPs ranged from 0 to 35 μm, of which the proportion of <10 μm MPs was more than 26.3%, while that of 20–25 μm and 25–35 μm MPs was relatively small (17.83% and 9.3%, respectively). Risk assessment results of the MP in the soil showed that the risk level of MPs in the non-ferrous metal industrial parks and in concentrated with small workshops areas is relatively high, and attention should be paid to such areas. In addition, the study provides a reference method for the investigation and risk assessment of MPs in terrestrial soils, coastal beaches, and sediments.

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Section: Standard Sample Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollution Characteristics of Microplastics in Soils in Southeastern Suburbs of Baoding City, China

Liang

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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“…The most common analytical techniques used for the analysis of MPs are micro Fourier transform infrared (μ-FTIR), and micro-Raman spectroscopy [ 14 , 15 ], both providing information that does not allow to clearly highlight the differences between the surface and bulk composition and to pinpoint the presence and relative amount of highly degraded fractions and of degradation products that are likely to affect the most the chemical behavior of MPs. On the other hand, in the last few years thermo-analytical approaches have emerged as powerful tools for studying MPs [ 16 , 17 , 18 ], also in routine analysis of contaminated environmental samples [ 19 ]. Among them, analytical pyrolysis [ 20 , 21 , 22 ] allows the sensitive and accurate characterization of polymers and polymer mixtures through their pyrolytic profiles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Study on the Degradation Products Generated from Artificially Aged Microplastics

et al. 2021

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Most of the analytical studies focused on microplastics (MPs) are based on the detection and identification of the polymers constituting the particles. On the other hand, plastic debris in the environment undergoes chemical and physical degradation processes leading not only to mechanical but also to molecular fragmentation quickly resulting in the formation of leachable, soluble and/or volatile degradation products that are released in the environment. We performed the analysis of reference MPs–polymer micropowders obtained by grinding a set of five polymer types down to final size in the 857–509 μm range, namely high- and low-density polyethylene, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The reference MPs were artificially aged in a solar-box to investigate their degradation processes by characterizing the aged (photo-oxidized) MPs and their low molecular weight and/or highly oxidized fraction. For this purpose, the artificially aged MPs were subjected to extraction in polar organic solvents, targeting selective recovery of the low molecular weight fractions generated during the artificial aging. Analysis of the extractable fractions and of the residues was carried out by a multi-technique approach combining evolved gas analysis–mass spectrometry (EGA–MS), pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py–GC–MS), and size exclusion chromatography (SEC). The results provided information on the degradation products formed during accelerated aging. Up to 18 wt% of extractable, low molecular weight fraction was recovered from the photo-aged MPs, depending on the polymer type. The photo-degradation products of polyolefins (PE and PP) included a wide range of long chain alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, and hydroxy acids, as detected in the soluble fractions of aged samples. SEC analyses also showed a marked decrease in the average molecular weight of PP polymer chains, whereas cross-linking was observed in the case of PS. The most abundant low molecular weight photo-degradation products of PS were benzoic acid and 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid, while PET had the highest stability towards aging, as indicated by the modest generation of low molecular weight species.

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“…In such cases, thermoanalytical techniques such as thermogravimetry/mass spectrometry (David et al, 2018(David et al, , 2019, pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS; Scholz-Böttcher, 2017, 2019), or combinations of TGA with GC/MS namely thermal desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TED-GC/MS; Dümichen et al, 2015;Duemichen et al, 2019) may demonstrate their inherent benefits. All these methods are based on thermal decomposition of polymer mixtures at temperatures >500 • C and their quantification via indicator pyrolysates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A simple method for the selective quantification of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene plastic debris in soil by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Steinmetz

Kintzi

Muñoz

et al. 2019

Preprint

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The lack of adequate analytical methods for the quantification of plastic debris in soil challenges a better understanding of their occurrence and fate in the terrestrial environment. With this proof-of-principle study, we developed a simple and fast method for the selective quantification of the three most environmentally relevant polymers polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) in soil using pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). In order to facilitate the preparation of calibration series and to better account for the heterogeneity of soil matrix, polymers were dissolved in 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (TCB) at 120 °C. Thereby, liquid sample aliquots from up to 4 g of solid sample became amenable to pyrolysis without further preparation. To evaluate the performance of this approach, three reference soils with 1.73–5.16 % organic carbon (Corg) were spiked at 50 and 250 μg g−1 of each polymer and extracted with TCB. A prior cleanup step with methanol, flocculation with KAl(SO4)2, and Fenton digestion were tested for their suitability to reduce potentially interfering Corg. Calibration curves responded linearly (adj. R2 > 0.996) with instrumental detection limits of 1–86 ng corresponding to method detection limits of 1–86 μg g−1. The measurement repeatability was 3.2–7.2 % relative standard deviation. Recoveries of 70–128 % were achieved for plastic contents of 250 μg g−1 extracted with TCB without prior cleanup from soils with less than 2.5 % Corg. A higher Corg particularly interfered with the quantification of PE. The addition of non-target polymers (polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, poly(methyl methacrylate), and tire wear particles) did not interfere with the quantification of the analytes highlighting the selectivity of the method. Further research is needed to determine low plastic contents in soils exceeding 2.5 % Corg. With 1–3 h processing time per sample, our method has the potential for routine analyses and screening studies of agricultural systems to be complemented with microspectroscopic techniques for additional information on particle shapes and sizes.

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Introducing a soil universal model method (SUMM) and its application for qualitative and quantitative determination of poly(ethylene), poly(styrene), poly(vinyl chloride) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) microplastics in a model soil

Cited by 43 publications

References 36 publications

Pollution Characteristics of Microplastics in Soils in Southeastern Suburbs of Baoding City, China

Pollution Characteristics of Microplastics in Soils in Southeastern Suburbs of Baoding City, China

A Systematic Study on the Degradation Products Generated from Artificially Aged Microplastics

A simple method for the selective quantification of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene plastic debris in soil by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

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