Challenges to the Analysis of Microplastic Pollution from the Environment

 A growing interest in microplastic pollution in the environment demands simple, inexpensive, comparable, and robust methods for microplastic (MP) analysis. A wide range of methodologies for sampling, sample preparation, and MP analysis are in use. This chapter discusses the most common detection methods, as well as sampling strategies and sample preparation methods along with a special emphasis on challenges. The spectroscopic methods require time-consuming sample preparation and measurement durations, whereas thermo-analytical methods are faster but lack the ability to determine sample size distribution. Many articles concerning the quality and quantity of MPs in various matrices have been published. However, drawbacks and limitations in MP analyses are frequently overlooked or ignored. As a result, depending on the defined analytical question, the majority of the described methods are applicable. As a result, this chapter summarizes current sampling, sample preparation, and analysis methods, discusses limitations, and outlines the complexities associated with MP loss or contamination during sampling and laboratory testing.

Keywords: Characterization, Digestion, Detection, Density separation, Extraction, FTIR, Identification, Infrared spectroscopy, Limitations, Microplastic, Occurrence, Processing, Purification, Pyr-GC-MS, Quality, Quantification, Raman, SEM, Spectrometry, Sampling.