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Phthalate esters in the Largest River of Asia: An exploration as indicators of microplastics

The Science of The Total Environment 2023 24 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 45 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Yuyi Yang Yulin Chen, Yulin Chen, Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yile Wang, Yile Wang, Yang Tan, Yang Tan, Yuyi Yang Yang Tan, Zulin Zhang, Yang Tan, Yang Tan, Yuyi Yang Chunxia Jiang, Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Chunxia Jiang, Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Zulin Zhang, Chunxia Jiang, Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Tianyi Li, Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Zulin Zhang, Zulin Zhang, Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Zulin Zhang, Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang Yang Tan, Yuyi Yang Yuyi Yang

Summary

Researchers conducted the first investigation of phthalate ester (PAE) pollution throughout Yangtze River sediments, finding 14 of 16 PAE types at all sites with concentrations related to urbanization and industrial activity, and explored their potential as chemical proxy indicators for microplastic pollution patterns. Strong correlations between PAEs and microplastic distribution suggest that PAEs could serve as soluble chemical tracers for microplastic contamination in large river systems.

Study Type Environmental

Phthalate esters (PAEs) are the most ubiquitous and highly used plasticizers in plastic products globally, yet studies on the spatial variation, risks, and their correlation with microplastics (MPs) are limited, particularly throughout the Yangtze River (the largest river in China/Asia). Therefore, this study investigated for the first time the PAEs pollution characteristics throughout the Yangtze River sediments, studied the environmental factors linked to the distribution of PAEs, and explored their potential as chemical indicators for interpreting pollution patterns of MPs. Totally 14 out of 16 PAEs were detected in sediments, with total concentrations ranging from 84.67 ng/g to 274.0 ng/g (mean: 163.5 ng/g), dominated by Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), and Di-isobutyl phthalate (DIBP), with contributions of 38.9 %, 31.8 %, and 20.8 %, respectively. Spatial distribution of PAEs did not indicate significant differences, which may be related to anthropogenic activities (i.e., emission intensity), runoff, and sediment physicochemical properties (i.e., TOC and TN), with TOC and TN being potential predictors of PAEs. The quantitative relationships (p < 0.001) between DEHP/∑PAEs ratio and MPs (both individual and total MPs) were found in sediments, which suggested that DEHP could be potentially used as an indicator for MPs. DEHP, DIBP, and DBP posed high risks, accounting for 100 %, 68.4 %, and 10.5 % of the monitoring sites, respectively. Further work is necessary to better understand the relationship between DEHP/∑PAEs and MPs in the environment and to take corresponding management and control measures for these pollutants.

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