Spatial distribution of polystyrene nanoplastics and small microplastics in the Bohai Sea, China

Li，Qingcun1,4; Sun，Helin3; Bai，Qingsheng1,4; Li，Peng1,4; Lai，Yujian1; Yu，Sujuan1,4; Liu，Xing3; Yao，Ziwei3; Cai，Yaqi1; Liu，Jingfu1,2

2023-07-10

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163222

Science of the Total Environment   Impact Factor & Quartile

0048-9697

1879-1026

Micro- and nano-plastic (MNP) pollution has attracted public concerns. Currently, most environmental researches focus on large microplastics (MPs), while small MNPs that have great impacts on marine ecosystems are rarely reported. Understanding the pollution levels and distribution patterns of small MNPs could help assess their potential impacts on the ecosystem. Polystyrene (PS) MNPs were often used as models to assess their toxicity, hence, we collected 21 sites in a Chinese sea area (the Bohai Sea) to analyze their pollution level and horizontal distribution in surface water samples, and vertical distributions in five sites with the water depth >25 m. Samples were filtered by glass membranes (1 μm) to trap MPs, which were frozen, ground, dried, and detected by pyrolysis-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (pyGC-MS); while the nanoplastics (NPs) in the filtrate were captured with alkylated ferroferric oxide (FeO) to form aggregates, which were separated by glass membrane (300 nm) filtration for pyGC-MS determination. Small PS MPs (1–100 μm) and NPs (<1 μm) were detected in 18 samples with the mass concentrations ranging from <0.015 to 0.41 μg/L, indicating that PS MNPs are widely present in Bohai Sea. Our study contributes to understanding the pollution levels and distribution patterns of MNPs (<100 μm) in the marine system and provides valuable data for their further risk assessment.

Marine debris Marine pollution Micro- and nano-plastics pyGC-MS

English

Corresponding

National Natural Science Foundation of China[21827815];National Natural Science Foundation of China[22106028];National Natural Science Foundation of China[42192571];

ENVIRONMENT/ECOLOGY

2-s2.0-85152134323

Scopus

1.State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology,Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,P. O. Box 2871,100085,China
2.School of Environmental Science and Engineering,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,518055,China
3.Key Laboratory for Ecological Environment in Coastal Areas,Ministry of Ecology and Environment,National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center,Dalian,116023,China
4.College of Resources and Environment,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,100049,China

Li，Qingcun,Sun，Helin,Bai，Qingsheng,et al. Spatial distribution of polystyrene nanoplastics and small microplastics in the Bohai Sea, China[J]. Science of the Total Environment,2023,881.

Li，Qingcun.,Sun，Helin.,Bai，Qingsheng.,Li，Peng.,Lai，Yujian.,...&Liu，Jingfu.(2023).Spatial distribution of polystyrene nanoplastics and small microplastics in the Bohai Sea, China.Science of the Total Environment,881.

Li，Qingcun,et al."Spatial distribution of polystyrene nanoplastics and small microplastics in the Bohai Sea, China".Science of the Total Environment 881(2023).