Micro(nano)plastics from synthetic oligomers persisting in Mediterranean seawater: Comprehensive NMR analysis, concerns and origins

Alessia Giannattasio; Veronica Iuliano; Giuseppina Oliva; Domenico Giaquinto; Carmine Capacchione; Maria Teresa Cuomo; Shadi W. Hasan; Kwang-Ho Choo; Gregory V. Korshin; Damià Barceló; Vincenzo Belgiorno; Alfonso Grassi; Vincenzo Naddeo; Antonio Buonerba

Environment International (Aug 2024)

Micro(nano)plastics from synthetic oligomers persisting in Mediterranean seawater: Comprehensive NMR analysis, concerns and origins

Alessia Giannattasio,
Veronica Iuliano,
Giuseppina Oliva,
Domenico Giaquinto,
Carmine Capacchione,
Maria Teresa Cuomo,
Shadi W. Hasan,
Kwang-Ho Choo,
Gregory V. Korshin,
Damià Barceló,
Vincenzo Belgiorno,
Alfonso Grassi,
Vincenzo Naddeo,
Antonio Buonerba

Affiliations

Alessia Giannattasio: Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Veronica Iuliano: Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Giuseppina Oliva: Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Domenico Giaquinto: Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Carmine Capacchione: Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Maria Teresa Cuomo: Department of Economics and Statistics, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Shadi W. Hasan: Center for Membranes and Advanced Water Technology (CMAT), Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Kwang-Ho Choo: Department of Environmental Engineering, Kyungpook National University (KNU), 80 Daehakro, Bukgu, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
Gregory V. Korshin: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Box 352700, Seattle, WA 98105-2700, United States
Damià Barceló: Chemistry and Physics Department, University of Almeria, Ctra Sacramento s/n, 04120 Almeria, Spain
Vincenzo Belgiorno: Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Alfonso Grassi: Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Vincenzo Naddeo: Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; Corresponding authors at: Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano, Italy.
Antonio Buonerba: Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; Corresponding authors at: Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano, Italy.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 190
p. 108839

Abstract

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The presence in seawater of low-molecular-weight polyethylene (PE) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), synthetic polymers with high chemical resistance, has been demonstrated in this study for the first time by developing a novel methodology for their recovery and quantification from surface seawater. These synthetic polymer debris (SPD) with very low molecular weights and sizes in the nano- and micro-metre range have escaped conventional analytical methods. SPD have been easily recovered from water samples (2 L) through filtration with a nitrocellulose membrane filter with a pore size of 0.45 μm. Dissolving the filter in acetone allowed the isolation of the particulates by centrifugation followed by drying. The isolated SPD were analysed by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR), identifying PE and PDMS. These polymers are thus persisting on seawater because of their low density and the ponderal concentrations were quantified in mg/m3. This method was used in an actual case study in which 120 surface seawater samples were collected during two sampling campaigns in the Mediterranean Sea (from the Gulf of Salerno to the Gulf of Policastro in South Italy). The developed analytical protocol allowed achieving unprecedented simplicity, rapidity and sensitivity. The 1H and 13C NMR structural analysis of the PE debris indicates the presence of oxidised polymer chains with very low molecular weights. Additionally, the origin of those low molecular weight polymers was investigated by analysing influents and effluents from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Salerno as a hot spot for the release of SPD: the analysis indicates the presence of low molecular weight polymers compatible with wax-PE, widely used for coating applications, food industry, cosmetics and detergents. Moreover, the origin of PDMS debris found in surface seawater can be ascribed to silicone-based antifoamers and emulsifiers.

Published in Environment International

ISSN: 0160-4120 (Print)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international

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