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Potassium carbonate (K2CO3) – A cheap, non-toxic and high-density floating solution for microplastic isolation from beach sediments
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Researchers found that potassium carbonate solution is an effective, cheap, and non-toxic alternative flotation medium for isolating microplastics from beach sediments, offering high enough density to recover most plastic polymer types while avoiding the hazards of commonly used chemicals like sodium iodide.
Beaches are good indicators for local microplastic distribution and pollution. Multiple methods have been developed for extracting microplastics from sediment through density separation. However, the chemicals applied are often expensive and harmful to the user or the environment. We briefly review the problems associated with the use of these chemicals and present a new floatation medium, potassium carbonate (KCO), that has many advantages over other available media. It is non-toxic and cheap, and with a density of 1.54 g/cm the KCO solution yielded a mean recovery rate of around 90% for PVC, one of the densest polymers, that cannot be easily extracted with alternative floatation media. We propose that the use of KCO is particularly promising for long term and large-scale monitoring studies, because it allows involving citizen scientists in such studies, leading to an increased public awareness of the plastic problem in the seas.
More Papers Like This
Potassium Carbonate (K 2 CO 3 ) – A cheap, non-toxic and high-density floating solution for microplastic isolation from beach sediments
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Researchers proposed potassium carbonate (K2CO3) as a cheaper and less toxic alternative to commonly used dense salt solutions for extracting microplastics from beach sediments via density separation. They found that K2CO3 solution was effective at floating plastics away from heavier sediment particles while being safer to handle and dispose of. The study provides a practical improvement to standard microplastic extraction protocols.
Microplastic Extraction from the Sediment Using Potassium Formate Water Solution (H2O/KCOOH)
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Researchers developed and tested a microplastic extraction method from sediment using potassium formate water solution as a density separation medium. Having standardized and reliable extraction methods is critical for producing comparable microplastic data across different research groups.
Perbandingan Larutan NaCl dan K2CO3 Sebagai Media Pemisahan Densitas Mikroplastik Pada Sedimen Pantai Kondang Merak dan Pantai Goa Cina
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Researchers compared the effectiveness of NaCl (density 1.18 g/cm3) and K2CO3 (density 1.43 g/cm3) solutions for density separation of microplastics from beach sediments at two Indonesian beaches, finding that K2CO3 extracted more fragment-type microplastics while both solutions yielded fiber-dominated results consistent between sites.
Environmentally safe and cost-effective microplastic isolation using a salt–sugar flotation approach
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Researchers developed an environmentally safe and cost-effective microplastic isolation method using a salt-sugar flotation approach as an alternative to conventional expensive salt-based density separation. The technique effectively separates microplastics from environmental matrices while minimizing the chemical burden of the remediation process itself.
Comparing methods for optimising microplastic extraction in sediment through density separation
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Researchers compared six density separation solutions and two transfer methods for extracting microplastics from marine sediment. CaCl2-saturated solution with decantation achieved 90% recovery regardless of polymer type, size, or shape, and was safer and cheaper than the next-best option (ZnCl2), recommending it as a standardized method.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.