Microplastics, defined as plastic fragments &lt; 5 mm in size, are ubiquitous pollutants of emerging concern that have caught the attention of the scientific community. With the rapid increase in production and spread, plastic debris are accumulating in the environment where they fragment into smaller pieces. Microplastics have aroused increasing concern as they pose potential threats to marine, freshwater and terrestrial organisms, and human health. Over the last decades, several studies have identified and quantified microplastics in diverse environmental matrixes. However, due to the high organic matter content of environmental samples, thus far the identification and quantification of microplastics has been accomplished using exhaustive and time-consuming procedures, typically involving a microplastic separation, followed by optical and/or spectroscopic techniques. The aim of this study was to simplify sample processing to facilitate the increased efficiency and accuracy of environmental monitoring. An accelerated solvent extraction technique without sample pre-treatment was developed and validated for the quantification of polymers in environmental samples, here exemplified using oysters and biosolids. Polymer identification and mass-related quantification of four polymers (polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate) was performed using pyrolysis gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (Pyr-GC/MS). Single shot Pyr-GC/MS was used to analyse the oyster extracts and a double shot was used for the biosolids extracts. The use of double-shot Pyr-GC/MS for biosolids allows for the effective thermal desorption of interfering compounds in the extracts prior to analyzing the polymers of interest in the second shot, saving time and labour needed to pre-treat organic rich samples.

Microplastics quantification in complex environment samples using combined solvent extraction and pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

2019 Fall National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.