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Total Organic Carbon as a Quantitative Index of Micro- and Nano-Plastic Pollution.
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Researchers developed a method using total organic carbon (TOC) as a standardized index to measure micro- and nanoplastic concentrations in water samples. The approach successfully detected a range of plastic types and sizes in tap, river, and seawater with low detection limits and high recovery rates. TOC-based measurement could simplify routine environmental monitoring of plastic pollution by avoiding the need for particle-by-particle analysis.
The global pollution of micro- and nano-plastics (MNPs) calls for monitoring methods. As diverse mixtures of various sizes, morphologies, and chemical compositions in the environment, MNPs are currently quantified based on mass or number concentrations. Here, we show total organic carbon (TOC) as an index for quantifying the pollution of total MNPs in environmental waters. Two parallel water samples are respectively filtered with a carbon-free glass fiber membrane. Then, one membrane with the collected particulate substances is treated by potassium peroxodisulfate oxidation and Fenton digestion in sequence for quantifying the sum of MNPs and particulate black carbon (PBC) as TOC using a TOC analyzer, another membrane is treated by sulfonation and Fenton digestion for quantifying PBC as TOC, and the TOC of MNPs is calculated by subtracting TOC from TOC. The feasibility of our method is demonstrated by determination of various MNPs of representative plastic types and sizes (0.5-100 μm) in tap, river, and sea water samples, with low detection limits (∼7 μg C L) and high spiked recoveries (83.7-114%). TOC is a powerful index for routine monitoring of MNP pollution.
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