Occurrence and visual characterization of microplastics from Mahakam River at Tenggarong City, Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia generates approximately 7.8 million tons of plastic waste annually, which 4.9 million tons is mismanaged. Presently, there is significant concern on microplastics (MPs) pollution in aquatic environment. The research on the prevalence of MPs in river systems are comparatively lower than the studies conducted on marine systems. The primary goal of this research was to look into the prevalence of MPs in the river water of Mahakam of Tenggarong City, Indonesia. To adequately represent this area, a meticulous selection method was used to find five separate sampling locations, with two stations at each location, positioned 200 m apart on opposite sides of the river. According to the study's findings, MPs has been observed in the range of 19.2 ± 1.8 to 58.5 ± 3.5 particles/l. Based on the MPs type, fragments (43.4 %) were the most common type of MPs found in water samples. Furthermore, 44.6 % of the MPs had size smaller than 1000 μm. The prevalent hues observed in the water samples were transparent and black, composing 75.6 % of overall formation. The determination of microplastic polymers employed Attenuated Total Reflection-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, revealing the presence of various type, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).