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Recent Advances on Density Separation Techniques for Microplastic Recovery from Sediments
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This review summarises recent advances in density separation techniques for extracting microplastics from sediments, evaluating the effectiveness of different salt solutions and comparing novel approaches such as electrostatic separation and pressurised fluid extraction against conventional methods.
Microplastics are small plastic fragments commonly less than 5 mm in size (Khatmullina et al., 2016), making up about 92% of the total plastic pollution. Since these plastics are transparent due to their small size, they cause invisible plastic pollution. Due to their adsorptive properties, they can potentially harm marine and human life if ingested. Microplastic extraction is used to isolate microplastics from their original matrix using various methods and instruments to ease the process. Electrostatic separation, magnetization, and pressurized fluid extraction are among the established microplastic extraction methods, but these separation techniques require more effort and use a more advanced setup than density separation. Salt-assisted density separation of microplastics has been demonstrated to provide modest to excellent recovery rates. This review survey reported different salt solutions used in microplastic extraction via density separation in the last five years. Among the inorganic salts used in density separation, sodium dihydrogen phosphate (NaH2PO4) holds promise in separating microplastics because of its high extraction efficiency while being cost-effective and non-hazardous.
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Extraction of microplastics from sediment matrices: Experimental comparative analysis
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Extraction efficiencies of four methods for separating microplastics from sediment matrices were experimentally compared using spiked samples, finding that density separation with saturated NaCl was adequate for most polymer types but underperformed for high-density polymers, and that no single method achieved complete recovery across all particle sizes and shapes.
Extraction of microplastic from marine sediments: A comparison between pressurized solvent extraction and density separation
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Researchers compared pressurized solvent extraction against density separation for extracting microplastics from marine sediments, evaluating the efficiency, accuracy, and practicality of each method to help establish consensus analytical protocols for deep-sea and coastal sediment samples.
The extraction of microplastics from sediments: An overview of existing methods and the proposal of a new and green alternative
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This review assessed existing methods for extracting microplastics from sediment samples — including density separation, chemical digestion, and filtration — and proposed a green alternative extraction protocol using only salt solutions and enzymatic digestion, reducing chemical waste while achieving comparable recovery rates.
Methods for separating microplastics from complex solid matrices: Comparative analysis
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Separation methods for extracting microplastics from complex solid matrices including soil, sediment, and sludge were systematically compared, evaluating density separation, oil extraction, electrostatic separation, and other approaches. The review provides guidance for choosing appropriate separation methods depending on matrix composition and target microplastic characteristics.
Microplastics everywhere: A review on existing methods of extraction
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This review compiled and evaluated existing methods for extracting microplastics from environmental samples, including density separation, oil extraction, and other techniques, assessing their advantages and limitations across different environmental matrices.
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