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Evaluation of Vertical Distribution Characteristics of Microplastics under 20 μm in River and Lake Waters in South Korea
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Researchers developed a new sampling device to collect very small microplastics (5 to 20 micrometers) from freshwater at different depths in South Korean rivers and lakes, an often-overlooked size range. They found that microplastic distribution varied with depth and water conditions, highlighting that standard surface sampling misses a significant fraction of plastic contamination.
Abstract Following the alarming reports of microplastic pollution in the marine environment, increased attention has been given to microplastics in other environmental media. Despite the attention, there is limited information on the effects of microplastic distribution in freshwater systems. Further, because the size of microplastics varies widely in the environment, the commonly used sampling devices are not suitable for selectively extracting microplastics without causing cross-contamination. Thus, we developed a suitable device for microplastics of size 5–20 µm and studied microplastic distribution in freshwater at various depths by considering various types of microplastics and aqueous systems. Two large water systems, a lake and a river, were chosen to study microplastic distribution. The microplastic distribution characteristics in both water systems showed that polypropylene and polyethylene were the most abundant across all depths because of their production volume. Plastic types with higher density were found only at the lower layers, and polystyrene was found in the upper layers because of the environmental effects on its pore diameter and surface area. The Lake and River had higher microplasticdistribution in the lower layer and upper layer, respectively. This was because the flow rate in River was higher than that of Lake. The higher flow rate reduced the settling velocity in River. Thus, hydrodynamic stability influences the vertical distribution and concentrations of microplastics in the water systems. These results contribute to the understanding and control of microplastics.
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