Quantitative analysis of microplastics in wastewater from treatment plant by visual identification and FT-IR imaging using H2O2 and FeSO4: A case study

Abstract

Plastic is a commonly used and perhaps unavoidablematerial due to its multifaceted nature. Plastic wastes do not degrade easily and hence present as a major threat to environment. Plastics of particle size less than 5mm is universally considered as microplastics. The present study investigates the identification and identification and quantification of microplastics. The sample was collected from the wastewater treatment plant of the Kalasalingam University campus as a bulk sample. The sample was prepared using Hydrogen peroxide and Iron II sulfate to oxidize the organic matter. Filtration was carried out in a set of filetr papers arranged in series with decreasing pore size. Sediments were collected and analyzed using FTIR imaging, The surface of the paper was analyzed using 40X dissecting microscope for visual identification. Further, SEM analysis with EDS mapping was performed to study the material composition. Eight different types of microplastics (MPs) were identified and sizes measured. The particle size varied from 10 -20 micron.