(Micro)plastics are solid particles formed by polymers, insoluble in water and with a particle
size of less than 5 mm. Its presence in different aquatic environments has caused a potential
pollution impact on the environment and human health. Some of them also contain metals due
to their own manufacture or obtained from adsorption processes through the medium. So, this
combination of metals and (micro)plastics causes an increase in their toxicity and danger to
the ecosystem.
The main objective of this work is to study, through controlled laboratory experiments, the
adsorption and desorption of metals in different types of samples of commercial (micro)plastics
(polyethylene 53-63μm, 3mm) and environmental ((micro)plastics collected in Mediterranean
Sea and Atlantic Ocean) as well as fragments of fishing nets and samples collected in the
agropiles of the Mediterranean cormorant (Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii).
It should be noted that different analytical techniques (ICP-MS, ICP-OES and TXRF) were
used during the work to determine the concentration of the metals present in the extracts
obtained in the adsorption and desorption studies. The μ-XRF technique has also been used
to determine the presence of metals in the solid samples of (micro)plastics.
The results obtained in the adsorption experiments have shown that the adsorption capacity
depends on the type of metal, chemistry of the aqueous solution and particle size of the (micro)plastic. In the latter case, it should be noted that the adsorption of metals is higher for
samples of (micro)plastics of smaller size.
In order to study the metal content that can be released from the (micro)plastic samples and
evaluate their possible danger in the exposed environment, different leaching tests have been
applied. It was found that some of the samples studied (fishing nets) had a considerable
leaching of metals with values of up to 1000 μg/kg (Pb) and that the metals present could
migrate in simulated gastric conditions of seabirds. Several metals (Pb, Cu, Fe, Cd, Zn, Cr
and Ti) were also identified in the (micro)plastic samples collected in the Mediterranean Sea
and the Atlantic Ocean. However, these metals were not easily desorbed from the samples.
This fact can be related to the aging of this type of samples in sea water
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