Analysis and determination of microplastics from tire waste in the Riobamba sewage system

The presence of plastics and their derivatives in surface waters date from the 1970s, this fact caused a great impact in scientific and environmental fields, every year thousands of tons of plastic are manufactured, being a small amount that is recycled. The plastic in the environment is fragmented, until it reaches microscopic sizes that end in oceans and lakes. This research work is of an exploratory type, which aims to analyze and identify the presence of small particles of plasticizer DEHP and synthetic rubber, which due to their size and origin are referred to as microplastics, these materials are used in the manufacture of tires, product from the friction of the tire with the asphalt, the detachment of these small particles that have high toxicity and can become carcinogenic is generated. This research project was carried out taking into account a typical population and on a representative samples, simple samples of residual water were made in the different sewage collectors of the city of Riobamba, 250 ml of each of these samples were filtered using a vacuum suction equipment, then examine the filters with a visual microscope. Obtaining as a result that 80% of the samples analyzed in the laboratory contain the clear presence of DEHP Plasticizer from the friction of tires with the asphalting of the streets of the city of Riobamba, and only 20% of the samples analyzed do not have this type of plasticizer DEHP, generating an average risk for the health of human beings and aquatic animals of the sector.