an official journal of: published by:
an official journal of: published by:
Editor in Chief: RAFFAELLO COSSU
Home

 

GO TO

MICROPLASTICS IDENTIFICATION IN LANDFILL LEACHATES BY DIFFERENT SPECTROSCOPIC TECHNIQUES

  • Camilla Simongini - Department of Chemical Engineering, Materials & Environment (DICMA), University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy
  • Milda Pucetaite - Department of Biology, Lund University, Sweden
  • Silvia Serranti - Department of Chemical Engineering, Materials and Environment (DICMA), University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy
  • Martijn van Praagh - Centre for enivornmental and climate science, Lund University, Sweden - Ensucon AB, Sweden
  • Edith Hammer - Department of Biology, Lund University, Sweden - Centre for enivornmental and climate science, Lund University, Sweden
  • Giuseppe Bonifazi - Department of Chemical Engineering, Materials & Environment (DICMA), University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy

DOI 10.31025/2611-4135/2022.15169

Released under CC BY-NC-ND

Copyright: © 2021 CISA Publisher

Abstract

Discovered more than 40 years ago, microplastics have become a major environmental issue. With increasing global plastic production, microplastics are of growing concern. Landfills have been pinpointed as primary sources of microplastics to surface waters and they have, in fact, been identified and quantified as such. Due to their small size, different polymers and interfering non-plastic materials, microplastics are difficult to analyse in a complex matrix such as leachate. To elucidate the impact of pre-treatment on the performance of the most common microspectroscopical analytical methods employed, i.e., FT-IR and Raman, we re-examined previously pre-treated and analysed leachate samples. Additionally, we subjected duplicates of previously analysed samples to different concentrations of H2O2 with varied reaction times to digest and remove non-plastic organic matter. The pre-treated samples were subjected density separation and (re-)analysed by means of FT-IR and Raman microspectroscopy. Larger particles were also analysed by near-infrared (NIR) hyperspectral imaging. We found the concentration of H2O2 to impact the possibility of identifying and quantifying PET particles, with Raman scattering microspectroscopy enabling more particles to be counted than with FT-IR. This is likely due to the increased detectable particle size range, from around 50 μm for FT-IR to 1 μm for Raman scattering microspectroscopy. Optimized H2O2 concentration with subsequent density separation enabled to clearly identify numerous PE particles, but also PP, PS, and PET particles and carbon compounds with Raman scattering microspectroscopy. Hyperspectral imaging performed well for particles larger than 30 μm.

Keywords

Editorial History

  • Received: 14 Dec 2021
  • Revised: 22 Mar 2022
  • Accepted: 24 Mar 2022
  • Available online: 31 Mar 2022

References

Arthur, C., Baker, J., Bamford, H., 2009. Proceedings of the international research workshop on the occurrence, effects, and fate of microplastic marine debris. NOAA marine debris program. Technical memorandum NOS-OR&R-30

Ballabio, D. and Consonni, V., 2013. Classification Tools in Chemistry. Part 1: Linear Models. PLS-DA. Analytical Methods, 5, 3790-3798.
DOI 10.1039/c3ay40582f

Barnes DK, Galgani F, Thompson RC, Barlaz M.,2009. Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci.;364(1526):1985-98.
DOI 10.1098/rstb.2008.0205

Bläsing, M., Amelung, W., 2018. W. Plastics in soil: Analytical methods and possible sources. Sci Total Environ.612:422-435.
DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.086

Bonifazi G., Capobianco G., Serranti S., 2018. A hierarchical classification approach for recognition of low-density (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in mixed plastic waste based on short-wave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral imaging. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy. 198.115-122
DOI 10.1016/j.saa.2018.03.006

Derraik J.G.B.,2002.The pollution of the marine environment by plastic debris: a review,Marine Pollution Bulletin,Volume 44, Issue 9,Pages 842-85.
DOI 10.1016/S0025-326X(02)00220-5

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,Volume 77, Issues 1–2,Pages 177-182,ISSN 0025-326X,
DOI 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.10.007

Gigault, J.; Pedrono, B.; Maxit, B.; Ter Halle, 2016. A. Marine plasticlitter: the unanalysed nano-fraction.Environ. Sci.: Nano2016,3(2),346−350.
DOI 10.1039/C6EN00008H

Haglund, P., Holmgren, T., Olofsson, U., Arnoldsson, K., Westerdahl, J., Tivander, J., Molander, S., van Praagh, M., Törneman, N., Humston-Fulmer, L., 2015. Goldschmidt Abstracts, 2015 1145

He, P., Chen, L., Shao, L., Zhang, H., Lü, F., 2019. Municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill: A source of microplastics? - Evidence of microplastics in landfill leachate, Water Research, Volume 159, 2019, Pages 38-45, ISSN 0043-1354,
DOI 10.1016/j.watres.2019.04.060

Horton, A.A., Walton, A., Spurgeon, D.J., Lahive, E., Svendsen, C., 2017. Microplastics in freshwater and terrestrial environments: Evaluating the current understanding to identify the knowledge gaps and future research priorities. Science of the Total Environment 586 (2017) 127–141

Käppler, A., Fischer, D., Oberbeckmann, O., Schernewski, G., Labrenz, M., Eichhorn, K.J., Voit, B., 2016. Analysis of Environmental Microplastics by Vibrational Microspectroscopy: FTIR, Raman or Both?” Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 408, no. 29 :8377–91.
DOI 10.1007/s00216-016-9956-3

Kjeldsen, P., Barlaz, M.A., Rooker, A.P., Baun, A, Ledin, A., Christensen, T.H., 2002. Present and Long-Term Composition of MSW Landfill Leachate: A Review. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 32(4):297-336

Korte, E. H., 1990. Infrared Specular Reflectance of Weakly Absorbing Samples. Vibrational Spectroscopy 1, no. 2 : 179–85.
DOI 10.1016/0924-2031(90)80033-Z

Magnusson, K., Eliasson, K., Fråne, A., Haikonen, K., Hultén, J., Olshammar, M., Stadmark, J. and Voisin, A.,2016. Swedish sources and pathways for microplastics to the marine environment. A review of existing data. IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet): 87

Modin, H., Persson,K.M.,Andersson,A.,van Praagh,M., 2011. Removal of metals from landfill leachate by sorption to activated carbon, bone meal and iron fines. Journal of Hazardous Materials. Volume 189, Issue 3. pg 749-754,ISSN 0304-3894.
DOI 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.03.001

Monakhova, Y.B., Hohmann M., Christoph N., Wachter H., Rutledge D.N., 2016. Improved classification of fused data: Synergetic effect of partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and common components and specific weights analysis (CCSWA) combination as applied to tomato profiles (NMR, IR and IRMS). Chemom. Intell. Lab. Syst. 156 (2016) 1–6,
DOI 10.1016/j.chemolab.2016.05.006

Nuelle, M.T., Dekiff J.H., Remy D., Fries E.,2014. A new analytical approach for monitoring microplastics in marine sediments. Environmental Pollution, 184, 161-169.
DOI 10.1016/j.envpol.2013.07.027

Quinn B., Murphy F., Ewins C., 2017. Validation of density separation for the rapid recovery of microplastics from sediment. J. Analytical Methods,9.
DOI 10.1039/c6ay02542k

Rasskazov, I. L., Singh, R., Carney, P. S.,, Bhargava, R.., 2019. Extended Multiplicative Signal Correction for Infrared Microspectroscopy of Heterogeneous Samples with Cylindrical Domains. Applied Spectroscopy 73, no. 8: 859–69.
DOI 10.1177/0003702819844528

SAPEA, Science Advice for Policy by European Academies, 2019. A Scientific Perspective on Microplastics in Nature and Society. Berlin: SAPEA.
DOI 10.26356/microplastics

Shan, J., Zhao, J., Liu, L., Zhang, Y., Wang,X., Wu,F., 2018. A Novel Way to Rapidly Monitor Microplastics in Soil by Hyperspectral Imaging Technology and Chemometrics. Environmental Pollution: 121–29.
DOI 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.03.026

Simon, M., van Alst, N., Vollertsen, J., 2018. Quantification of microplastic mass and removal rates at wastewater treatment plants applying Focal Plane Array (FPA)-based Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) imaging. Water Research 142 (2018) 1-9

Su, Y., Zhang, Z., Zhu, J., Shi, J., Wei, H., Xie, B., Shi, H. 2021. Microplastics act as vectors for antibiotic resistance genes in landfill leachate: The enhanced roles of the long-term aging process, Environmental Pollution, Volume 270, 2021, 116278, ISSN 0269-7491,
DOI 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116278

Sundt, P., Schulze, P.-E., and Syversen, F., 2014. Sources of microplastic pollution to the marine environment. Mepex for the Norwegian Environment Agency (Miljødirektoratet): 86

Thompson, R.C., Olsen, Y., Mitchell, R.P.,Davis,A.,Rowland, S.J., John,A.W.G.,McGonigle, D.,Russel, A.E., 2004. Lost at sea: where is all the plastic? Science, 304 (2004), p. 838.
DOI 10.1126/science.1094559

van Praagh, M., Hartman, C., Brandmyr, E., 2018. Microplastics in landfill leachates in the Nordic Countries. TemaNord 2018:557. Nordic Council of Ministers, ISBN 978-92-893-5915-3 (EPUB),
DOI 10.6027/TN2018-557

van Praagh, M., Liebmann, B., 2019. Microplastics in landfill leachates in three Nordic Countries. Sardinia Symposium 2019, 1-6 October 2019, Cagliari, Italy

World Economic Forum, Ellen MacArthur Foundation and McKinsey & Company, 2016. “The New Plastics Economy — Rethinking the future of plastics.”

Xu, Z., Sui, Q., Aimin Li, Sun, M., Zhang, L., Lyu, S., Zhao, W., 2020. How to detect small microplastics (20–100 μm) in freshwater, municipal wastewaters and landfill leachates? A trial from sampling to identification, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 733, 2020, 139218, ISSN 0048-9697,
DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139218

Zarfl, C., 2019. Promising Techniques and Open Challenges for Microplastic Identification and Quantification in Environmental Matrices. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry,
DOI 10.1007/s00216-019-01763-9

Related Contents