Two simple washing procedures allow the extraction of positively buoyant microplastics (>500 μm) from beach wrack.

Dittmann, Sinja and Lenz, Mark (2020) Two simple washing procedures allow the extraction of positively buoyant microplastics (>500 μm) from beach wrack. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 161 . Art.Nr. 111762. DOI 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111762.

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Supplementary data:

Abstract

Highlights:
* Two washing procedures for extracting microplastics from beach wrack were evaluated.
• Monospecific beach wrack was spiked with EPS and PP particles of different sizes.
• The influence of polymer type and particle size on particle recovery was assessed.
• The influence of wrack type and washing effort on particle recovery was assessed.
• Both procedures are efficient and suitable for school and citizen science projects.
So far, no procedure has been established that allows the extraction of microplastics from organic-rich environmental matrices such as beach wrack. Here we present two novel, easy and cost-effective methods for extracting microplastics from Baltic Sea beach wrack consisting of Zostera marina L. or Fucus spp. Samples of either Zostera marina L. or Fucus spp. were spiked with defined amounts of either expanded polystyrene (EPS) or polypropylene (PP) in three size classes (500–1000, 1000–2000 and 2000–5000 μm). Afterwards, we placed the material between two grids inside a water-filled container and tested the separation efficiency by applying two methods. We either moved the grids up and down manually or bubbled the container with air to analyse the influence of a) beach wrack type, b) particle type, c) particle size, d) washing procedure and e) washing effort on particle recovery. Both procedures turned out to be efficient and easy to apply.

Document Type: Article
Keywords: Microplastics; Beach wrack; Particle extraction; Empirical method evaluation; Western Baltic Sea
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB3 Marine Ecology > FB3-EOE-B Experimental Ecology - Benthic Ecology
Kiel University
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: Elsevier
Date Deposited: 16 Nov 2020 08:32
Last Modified: 08 Feb 2023 09:31
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/51018

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