Composition And Source Of Microplastics

At present, the microplastics detected in the environment are mainly polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS), polyterephthalate diethanol ester (PET), polyamide (PA), etc.Among them, PE, PP and PVC are widely used.Microplastics can be transported by wind and surface runoff, so they can be detected in Marine, fresh water, land and atmospheric environments.Microplastics can be divided into secondary microplastics and primary microplastics according to their source.Secondary microplastics refer to the fragmentation and degradation of larger plastics into microplastics after they enter the environment.Primary microplastics are plastics that enter the environment directly as small particles.Corrosion from synthetic textiles, synthetic rubber tyres and urban dust are considered to be the most important sources of primary microplastics.Other sources of microplastics may include pieces of plastic from clothing and household furniture, construction materials, industrial discharges, waste incineration, particle resuspitation, particles released from traffic, synthetic particles used in horticultural soils (e.g. PS peat), sewage sludge used as fertilizer, etc.