An alternative spectroscopic approach for the monitoring of microplastics in environmental samples

The increasing pollution of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems with plastic debris leads to the accumulation of microscopic plastic particles of still unknown fate. To monitor the degree of contamination and to understand the underlying processes of turnover, analytical methods are urgently needed, which help to identify and quantify microplastic (MP). Currently, costly collected and purified materials enriched on filters are investigated both by micro-infrared spectroscopy and micro-Raman. Although yielding precise results, these techniques are time consuming and restricted to sample aliquots in the order of micrograms precluding prompt and representative information on both, larger sample numbers and realistic material volumes. To overcome these problems, here we tested Raman and NIR process-spectroscopic methods in combination with multivariate data analysis. For this purpose, artificial MP/soil mixture samples consisting of standard soils or sand with defined ratios of MP (0,5 – 10 mass% polymer) from polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene were prepared. MP particles with diameters < 2 mm and < 125 µm were obtained from industrial polymer pellets after cryomilling. Spectra of these mixtures were collected by (i) a process FT-NIR spectrometer equipped with a reflection probe, (ii) by a cw-process Raman spectrometer and (iii) by a time-gated Raman spectrometer using fiber optic probes. For the calibration of chemometric models (partial least squares regression, PLSR) 5 – 10 spectra of defined MP/soil mixtures (consisting of 1 – 4 g material each) were collected. The obtained PLSR models served for the prediction of both, polymer type and content based on the spectra of “unknown” test samples. Whereas MP could be detected by Raman spectroscopy in coastal sand at 0.5 mass%, in standard soils detection of MP was limited to 10 – 5 mass%. The sensitivity of Raman spectroscopy could be improved by mild treatment with hydrogen peroxide. FT-NIR was suitable for the investigation of MP in standard soils in the range of 5 – 1 mass%, however, here a non-linear effect was observed at higher polymer concentrations. When mixtures of several polymers at low concentration levels were milled together, FT-NIR spectroscopy yielded false positive polymers together with unprecise quantitative information. Recently, the investigation of “real-world” samples shall be tested and compared to the results obtained by micro-FTIR and micro-Raman.