Research in the field of microfiber pollution is important for many reasons, including the need to understand the types and quantity of plastic pollution that contaminate watersheds around the world. Synthetic microfibers, such as polyester, rayon, acrylic, and nylon originate from everyday materials such as clothing, blankets, rugs and other items. The shedding of plastic microfibers from these materials, especially in laundry water, has led to water and sediment contamination in watersheds and surface water. To evaluate the extent of microfiber pollution in the Lake Michigan watershed, known as the Salt Creek watershed in Northwest Indiana, research has been being carried out on water and sediment samples at tributary locations, at a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and the lakeshore. The common water quality parameter of total suspended solids (TSS), which utilizes 500 mL water samples, has been been modified to include the quantification of synthetic microfibers. The recovered suspended solids have been chemically processed using the Fenton reagent, to isolate and identify only synthetic microfibers. In the same locations, sediment samples were collected, processed and analyzed. A density gradient was used to separate floating or suspended materials, including the microfibers from the sediment, followed by Fenton oxidation. To assess the effectiveness of the oxidation step on various materials, microfiber standards were created from different fabrics. These experiments also explored the durability of the different polymeric materials and the dyes. More than one hundred water samples were collected from the Lake Michigan tributary and 86% contained one or more synthetic microfibers, after the number of contaminants from blanks were subtracted. While the data was obtained in a reliable manner, more optimal and reliable processing procedures for using TSS samples are being investigated.

Quantifying and analyzing microfiber pollution in the Lake Michigan watershed

2019 Fall National Meeting

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