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Tracking microplastics to their source: analytical techniques for characterizing weathered polymers
Citation:
Potter, P., Q. Birch, P. Pinto, AND Souhail R. A-lAbed. Tracking microplastics to their source: analytical techniques for characterizing weathered polymers. 258th American Chemical Society, San Diego, CA, August 25 - 29, 2019.
Impact/Purpose:
Plastics breakdown into micro- (< 5 mm) and nano-sized (<100 nm) particles when they undergo environmental exposure and aging. While these microplastics have been studied in many geographic regions, there are still many questions about their origins. This research used fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) to identify polymer type and source of microplastics recovered from various urban water sources. These findings should influence future studies on microplastics by identifying primary contributors to microplastic formation. These methodologies may be useful to a variety of government and academic researchers investigating microplastics.
Description:
Plastic pollution is a growing environmental concern. Microplastics (MPs) are 100 µm) and therefore cannot be utilized for every MP particle. Despite this limitation, preliminary data shows that IRMS has great potential for determining age and source of MP particles.