Poor extraction efficiencies of polystyrene nano- and microplastics from biosolids and soil.

ABSTRACT: Extraction and quantification of nano- and microplastics from sediments and soils is challenging. Although no standard method has been established so far, flotation is commonly used to separate plastic from mineral material. The objective of this study was to test the efficiency of flotation for the extraction of nano- and microplastics from biosolids and soil. We spiked biosolids and soil samples with polystyrene nano- and microbeads (0.05, 1.0, 2.6, 4.8, and 100 μm diameter). Different extraction methods (w/ and w/o H2O2 digestion) were tested, and plastic beads were separated from mineral particles by flotation in a ZnCl2 solution. Plastic particles were quantified by UV-Vis spectrometry and gravimetrically. While large beads (100 μm) could be quantitatively extracted (∼100%) from both

SUBMITTER: Wang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6264880 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature