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Separation of microplastics from a coastal soil and their surface microscopic features
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Researchers separated microplastics from coastal soil in a Chinese reclamation area and examined their surface features using microscopy, finding weathered surfaces covered with cracks and pits. Surface roughness on microplastics is important because it increases their capacity to adsorb chemical pollutants, affecting how they carry toxic substances through the environment.
Microplastics (<5 mm) are emerging pollutants in the coastal zone and are of worldwide concern. Previous studies have shown the importance of surface features of microplastics on the adsorption and transport of chemical pollutants in the ocean and coastal environment. The objective of this study was therefore to characterize the surface properties of the microplastic samples from a reclamation area polluted by plastic debris in Chaofeidian, Hebei Province. A surface (0–2 cm) soil composite sample was collected from several square plots each with an area of 1 m×1 m. The microplastics were separated in two steps. Firstly, 500 g (dry weight) soil sample was reduced to <100 g soil which contained most of the microplastics using continuous air-flow flotation separation apparatus designed by our own group. Secondly, the microplastics were separated from the soil by density separation using NaI solution (1.8 g cm-3) followed by visual selection. All the microplastics were photographed and image analysis was performed using the program Nano Measurer 1.2 for counting and size measurement. The microscopic features of the microplastic surfaces were characterized using a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS).
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