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Maheswaran B, Karmegam N, Al-Ansari M, Subbaiya R, Al-Humaid L, Sebastin Raj J, Govarthanan M. Assessment, characterization, and quantification of microplastics from river sediments. Chemosphere 2022; 298:134268. [PMID: 35276113 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Microplastic (MP), as a pollutant, is currently posing a biological hazard to the aquatic environment. The study aims to isolate, quantify, and characterize the MP pollutants in sediment samples from 14 study sites at Kaveri River, Killa Chinthamani, Tiruchirappalli, South India. With Sediment-MP Isolation (SMI) unit, density separation was done with a hydrogen peroxide solution. Four forms of MPs namely, fragments, films, foams, and fibers with orange, white, green, and saffron red were observed. The plenitude and distribution of four forms of MPs and natural substrates were geometrically independent, with large amounts of microfragments within the research region accounting for 79.72% variation by Principal Component Analysis. FT-IR analyses of MPs showed the presence of polyamide, polyethylene, polyethylene glycol, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, and polystyrene. Additionally, the scanning electron microscopic analysis revealed that the MPs have differential surface morphology with rough surfaces, porous structures, fissures, and severe damage. Most MPs comprised Si, Mg, Cu, and Al, according to energy dispersive X-ray analyses. The combined SMI, instrumental analyses and evaluation (heat map) of MPs in river sediments help assess contamination levels and types of MPs. The findings might provide an insight into the status of MPs in Kavery River sediments that could help in formulating regulations for MPs reduction and contamination in rivers eventually to protect the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baskaran Maheswaran
- Post Graduate and Research Department of Biotechnology, Jamal Mohamed College (Autonomous), Affiliated to Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, 620 020, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Natchimuthu Karmegam
- Department of Botany, Government Arts College (Autonomous), Salem, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Mysoon Al-Ansari
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ramasamy Subbaiya
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, The Copperbelt University, Riverside, Jambo Drive, P O Box, 21692, Kitwe, Zambia
| | - Latifah Al-Humaid
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Joseph Sebastin Raj
- Post Graduate and Research Department of Biotechnology, Jamal Mohamed College (Autonomous), Affiliated to Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, 620 020, Tamil Nadu, India.
| | - Muthusamy Govarthanan
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, Republic of Korea; Department of Biomaterials, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai 600 077, India.
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