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Microplastic Pollution in Libyan Port Sediments: Today's Findings and Environmental Impacts
Summary
Researchers used FTIR spectroscopy to identify and characterize microplastics in sediment samples collected from three port locations in west Libya near the Mediterranean Sea, providing baseline data on microplastic pollution types and environmental impacts in Libyan coastal environments.
Abstract The presence of microplastics in the environment and the coastal regions is of growing concern. This has led to increased testing for the presence of microplastics in a variety of samples, including regions located next to seawater that has brought importance to limiting the amount of plastic entering the ecosystem. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been used for the analysis of polymers as a technique to identify microplastics. This study was conducted in the west Libya zone to identify microplastics at three different locations near the Mediterranean Sea port of Tripoli using the FTIR technique. During the period between May 2022 and May 2023, a total of 10 microplastic samples (ten samples/site/15points) were collected from a selected site (A) adjacent to the coastline area of the Tripoli port in Western Libya province. The highest average "MP (polymer)/area" was recorded. According to FTIR analysis, the majority of polymers found in the ten samples from region A were polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene. This study validated for the first time the presence of these polymers of plastic in the coastal region of Tripoli port, West Libya. Results from region A showed these bases were highly efficient in obtaining optimal identification of the microplastic contamination.