HAN Zhuo,LIU Yu-hui,WEI Xiao-fei,LI Peng-hui,SONG Shan-jun.Determination of Six Microplastics in Pine Needles by TGA/FTIR-GC-MS[J].Journal of Instrumental Analysis,2024,43(08):1249-1256.
HAN Zhuo,LIU Yu-hui,WEI Xiao-fei,LI Peng-hui,SONG Shan-jun.Determination of Six Microplastics in Pine Needles by TGA/FTIR-GC-MS[J].Journal of Instrumental Analysis,2024,43(08):1249-1256. DOI: 10.12452/j.fxcsxb.24052876.
Determination of Six Microplastics in Pine Needles by TGA/FTIR-GC-MS
Microplastics,as an emerging pollutant that received increasing attention,have been confirmed to exist widely around the world and pose risks to both environment and human health. The various characteristics of microplastics lead to diverse analytical techniques,which has limited the consistent comparability of data between different studies. With the application of mass spectrometer in microplasitcs analysis,the mass concentration showed advantages in the comparability of different research data and has been used for the evaluation of occurrence level in different environmental matrices. In this study,a qualitative and quantitative analysis method for polyethyl
ene(PE),polypropylene(PP),polystyrene(PS),polyvinyl chloride(PVC),polyethylene terephthalate(PET),and polycarbonate(PC) microplastics was developed based on the thermogravimetric analysis/infrared spectroscopy-gas chromatography-mass spectrometer(TGA/FTIR-GC-MS). TGA monitors the thermal stability and volatile compounds of materials by recording mass loss as a function of temperature or time. FTIR could provide functional information of chemical structure. GC-MS could identify and quantify the pyrolysis products. As a comprehensive instrument platform,TGA/FTIR-GC-MS can achieve triple analysis of microplastics combing thermal decomposition kinetic information,spectral information and mass spectrum information. After detailed method optimization,the detection limits of the quantitative analysis method(LODs) were 0.03-1.11 μg. The recoveries were 80.4%-93.3% and the relative standard deviations(RSDs) obtained from spiked experiments were 4.0%-12%(
n
=3) for all six plastics. To further evaluate the method performances,pine needles,which are good passive biological sampler for monitoring organic pollutants,were analyzed as field sample matrices. A total of 12 pine needle samples were collected from different areas in China,such as Wuyi Mountain,Qinghai Lake,Yangshuo,Guangxi,and Greater Hinggan Mountains. All samples were carefully washed to remove interferes during the sampling and storage. The pine needles were then digested using tetramethylammonium hydroxide pentahydrate(TMAH) and analyzed using the developed method. The results showed that the concentrations of detected microplastics ranged from 0.01 μg∙mg
-1
to 3.15 μg∙mg
-1
which could be an indicator for local pollution status. The detection frequency(DF) was as follows:PE,PP and PS(100%),PET(92%),PC(60%),PVC(8%). The relative high DF suggested the possible enrichment of microplastics from environment matrix to plants,which deserves careful attentions. Meanwhile,the results also indicated that the developed method could prov
ide satisfying capacity for complex environmental matrices analysis. This work could provide practical analysis technical for pollution assessment and environmental behavior research of microplastics.
Application of X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy in Domestic Analysis of Aerial Metallic Materials
Impact of Microplastics on Microbial Communities and Arsenic Speciation Transformation at Arsenic-contaminated Soil
Identification and Quantification of Microplastics Released from Plastic Packaging Used for Traditional Chinese Medicine Decoctions
Related Author
LI Hui
ZHANG Zhong-yuan
XU Wen-qing
LIU Yu-sen
HU Min
YU Huan-yun
BAO Lian-jun
MA Jie-lin
Related Institution
Institute of Metal Research,Chinese Academy of Sciences
Institute of Eco-environmental and Soil Sciences,Guangdong Academy of Sciences
School of Environmental and Climate,Jinan University
School of Environmental Science and Engineering,Changzhou University
Institute of Analysis and Testing,Beijing Academy of Science and Technology(Beijing Physical and Chemical Analysis and Testing Center),Beijing Key Laboratory of Organic Materials Testing Technology and Quality Evaluation,Beijing Engineering Research Center for Food Safety Analysis and Testing