Scientists have got up close and personal with human sewage to determine how best to measure hidden and potentially dangerous plastics.
Scientists have got up close and personal with human sewage to determine how best to measure hidden and potentially dangerous plastics.
As the way microplastics are measured and counted varies from place to place, there is no agreed understanding of the weight of the problem. Until scientists can agree on one way of measuring them, life on land and sea will continue to ingest who knows how much plastic, affecting health for generations.
A new study, published today in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, by the University of Portsmouth has examined one method, using a chemical solution called ‘Fenton reagent’ to remove organic matter from sewage. It found it has significant advantages in processing times and costs over other currently available methods of testing.
Project Lead Dr Fay Couceiro, Senior Research Fellow in Biogeochemistry at the University of Portsmouth, said: “Multiple digestion with Fenton reagent involves mixing the sewage with hydrogen peroxide and iron sulphide multiple times to breakdown the organic matter. When followed by density separation, where you float off the plastics from everything else, it provides a cleaner sample so the size and type of microplastic can be determined with much less interference.”
Read more at University of Portsmouth
Image: This image is generated by siMPle, an FTIR particle-analysis software, after comparison of the acquired particles spectra with a reference database (Credit: University of Portsmouth)
