A commonly available and easily assembled device for extraction of bio/non-degradable microplastics from soil by flotation in NaBr solution

Abstract

Soil microplastic pollution has caused widespread research attention worldwide. It is necessary to efficiently separate microplastic particles from soil matrixes in order to conduct studies of microplastic. And so far, few studies have described the separation and extraction devices of biodegradable microplastic. Here we present a commonly available device for extraction of non-degradable and biodegradable microplastics from soil samples in a NaBr solution based on density flotation. The device has a combined circulation and recovery system for the salt solution, which increases its environmental-friendliness. The accuracy and precision of the device was verified through spike and recovery experiments using three types of biodegradable microplastics (PBS, PBAT, PLA) and four types of non-degradable microplastics (LDPE, PS, PP, PVC), all with different particle sizes, and all microplastics are grinded autonomously, closer to reality. In despite of differences in particle size and density, for both biodegradable and non-degradable microplastics the device exhibited good extraction precision, with recovery rates ranging from 92% to 99.6%, over a wide range of particle densities and sizes. The recovery rates slightly increased with increased polymer density and microplastic particle size.