Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons affiliated with microplastics in surface waters of Bohai and Huanghai Seas, China

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) sized between 0.33 and 5 mm were collected using Manta trawls from ten surface seawater sites in Bohai and Huanghai Seas, China. A total of 1024 (Bohai Sea) and 132 (Huanghai Sea) microplastic pieces were classified, including polystyrene foams, polyethylene films and lines, and other plastic pellets, with concentrations of MPs ranging from 3 to 162 particles per 100 m3 (0.012–2.96 mg m−3). A pretreatment of MPs with 30% H2O2 in water did not significantly lower polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations on MPs compared to no H2O2 pretreatment. Measurements of PAHs carried on the collected MPs indicated that the concentrations of the sum of 16 PAHs were in the range of 3400−119,000 ng g−1. The sources of PAHs in Bohai and Huanghai Seas were highly similar, with petroleum and gasoline probably as the dominant sources. The present study shows the relative importance of MPs in regards to chemical transport in the marine environment. The combination of high concentrations of PAHs affiliated with MPs and the increasing magnitude of plastic pollution in the world's oceans demonstrates the considerable importance of MPs to the fate of PAHs in marine environments.