A critical assessment of visual identification of marine microplastic using Raman spectroscopy for analysis improvement

Robin Lenz; Kristina Enders; Colin Stedmon; David M.A. Mackenzie; Torkel Gissel Nielsen

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.09.026

A critical assessment of visual identification of marine microplastic using Raman spectroscopy for analysis improvement

Robin Lenz, Kristina Enders, Colin Stedmon, David M.A. Mackenzie, Torkel Gissel Nielsen

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

Identification and characterisation of microplastic (MP) is a necessary step to evaluate their concentrations, chemical composition and interactions with biota. MP ≥10 μm diameter filtered from below the sea surface in the European and subtropical North Atlantic were simultaneously identified by visual microscopy and Raman micro-spectroscopy. Visually identified particles below 100 μm had a significantly lower percentage confirmed by Raman than larger ones indicating that visual identification alone is inappropriate for studies on small
microplastics. Sixty-eight percent of visually counted MP (n = 1279) were spectroscopically confirmed being plastic. The percentage varied with type, colour and size of the MP. Fibres had a higher success rate (75%) than
particles (64%).We tested Raman micro-spectroscopy applicability for MP identification with respect to varying chemical composition (additives), degradation state and organic matter coating. Partially UV-degraded postconsumer plastics provided identifiable Raman spectra for polymers most common among marine MP, i.e. polyethylene and polypropylene

Original language	English
Journal	Marine Pollution Bulletin
Volume	100
Issue number	1
Pages (from-to)	82-91
ISSN	0025-326X
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.09.026
Publication status	Published - 2015

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abstract = "Identification and characterisation of microplastic (MP) is a necessary step to evaluate their concentrations, chemical composition and interactions with biota. MP ≥10 μm diameter filtered from below the sea surface in the European and subtropical North Atlantic were simultaneously identified by visual microscopy and Raman micro-spectroscopy. Visually identified particles below 100 μm had a significantly lower percentage confirmed by Raman than larger ones indicating that visual identification alone is inappropriate for studies on smallmicroplastics. Sixty-eight percent of visually counted MP (n = 1279) were spectroscopically confirmed being plastic. The percentage varied with type, colour and size of the MP. Fibres had a higher success rate (75%) thanparticles (64%).We tested Raman micro-spectroscopy applicability for MP identification with respect to varying chemical composition (additives), degradation state and organic matter coating. Partially UV-degraded postconsumer plastics provided identifiable Raman spectra for polymers most common among marine MP, i.e. polyethylene and polypropylene",

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AU - Nielsen, Torkel Gissel

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AB - Identification and characterisation of microplastic (MP) is a necessary step to evaluate their concentrations, chemical composition and interactions with biota. MP ≥10 μm diameter filtered from below the sea surface in the European and subtropical North Atlantic were simultaneously identified by visual microscopy and Raman micro-spectroscopy. Visually identified particles below 100 μm had a significantly lower percentage confirmed by Raman than larger ones indicating that visual identification alone is inappropriate for studies on smallmicroplastics. Sixty-eight percent of visually counted MP (n = 1279) were spectroscopically confirmed being plastic. The percentage varied with type, colour and size of the MP. Fibres had a higher success rate (75%) thanparticles (64%).We tested Raman micro-spectroscopy applicability for MP identification with respect to varying chemical composition (additives), degradation state and organic matter coating. Partially UV-degraded postconsumer plastics provided identifiable Raman spectra for polymers most common among marine MP, i.e. polyethylene and polypropylene

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DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.09.026

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A critical assessment of visual identification of marine microplastic using Raman spectroscopy for analysis improvement

Abstract

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