Investigating Microplastic Content in the Susquehanna River

The current study investigates the microplastic content in Pennsylvania’s largest watershed, the Susquehanna River. Water samples were collected at four different sites located just downstream from urban centers with varying populations – first in May 2022, then May 2023. Samples were size fractioned in situ using a sieve stack with mesh sizes of 1-mm, 500-μm, 212-μm, 106-μm, and 20-μm. Bulk un-sieved sediment samples were also collected during the second round of sample collection. Microplastics were separated from non-plastic microparticles using a CaCl2 density separation method. Plastic microparticles were then characterized using an iN10 MX FTIR microscope in both macro-reflectance and ATR modes. Microplastics identified include cellophane (CP), cellulose (CL), ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA), polyamide (PA), polyarylamide (PARA), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PETE), polyphthalamide (PPA), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), with polyamide being the most abundant at all locations. The ≥ 1 mm size fraction collected the largest variety of microplastics while fewer types were present in smaller size fractions. Cellulose and nylon were consistently present across all size fractions. When comparing data from Site 1 in both rounds of sample collection, the relative abundance of polyamide increased by 24.3%.

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Work Title Investigating Microplastic Content in the Susquehanna River
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Open Access
Creators
  1. Molly Burns
License No Copyright - U.S.
Work Type Research Paper
Publication Date May 2024
Deposited May 01, 2024

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    Description
    • The current study investigates the microplastic content in Pennsylvania’s largest watershed, the Susquehanna River. Water samples were collected at four different sites located just downstream from urban centers with varying populations – first in May 2022, then May 2023. Samples were size fractioned in situ using a sieve stack with mesh sizes of 1-mm, 500-μm, 212-μm, 106-μm, and 20-μm. Bulk un-sieved sediment samples were also collected during the second round of sample collection. Microplastics were separated from non-plastic microparticles using a CaCl2 density separation method. Plastic microparticles were then characterized using an iN10 MX FTIR microscope in both macro-reflectance and ATR modes. Microplastics identified include cellophane (CP), cellulose (CL), ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA), polyamide (PA), polyarylamide (PARA), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PETE), polyphthalamide (PPA), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), with polyamide being the most abundant at all locations. The ≥ 1 mm size fraction collected the largest variety of microplastics while fewer types were present in smaller size fractions. Cellulose and nylon were consistently present across all size fractions. When comparing data from Site 1 in both rounds of sample collection, the relative abundance of polyamide increased by 24.3%.
    Publication Date
    • 2024-05
  • Added Creator Molly Burns
  • Added MBurns Final Thesis.pdf
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    • https://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/
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