Microplastics in the commercial seaweed nori

[Display omitted] •MPs were ubiquitous but low in the commercial seaweed nori.•The size and shape of MPs in nori varied dramatically across different processing stages.•Polyester was the predominant component of MPs in commercially packaged nori.•Polypropylene was the most commonly detected polymer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of hazardous materials 2020-04, Vol.388, p.122060, Article 122060
Main Authors: Li, Qipei, Feng, Zhihua, Zhang, Tao, Ma, Cuizhu, Shi, Huahong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
China
Commercial products
Environmental Monitoring
Microplastics
Microplastics - analysis
Microplastics were ubiquitous but low in nori
Nori
Porphyra - chemistry
Processing stages
Seaweed capsule
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
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Summary:[Display omitted] •MPs were ubiquitous but low in the commercial seaweed nori.•The size and shape of MPs in nori varied dramatically across different processing stages.•Polyester was the predominant component of MPs in commercially packaged nori.•Polypropylene was the most commonly detected polymer in factory-processed nori.•Microfibers were proved to adhere to the surface of nori in the laboratory. Microplastics have been reported to attach to the marine macroalgae which act as the vector for microplastic transfer in the marine food web. In this study, the edible seaweed nori (Pyropia spp.) was chosen as a target species. The microplastic contaminant situations in nori were analyzed in both its final commercial products and the intermediate products across different processing stages. The abundance of microplastics ranged from 0.9 to 3.0 items/g (dw) among 24 brands of commercially packaged nori samples. With the development of nori processing stages, an enlarged size fraction of greater microplastics (1–5 mm) was observed. Compared with commercially packaged nori samples, the proportions of polypropylene, polyethylene and poly (ethylene-propylene) copolymers increased, whereas that of polyester decreased in factory-processed nori. Additionally, we further simulated and quantified the number of fluorescent polyester fibers (concentrations: 0, 1000, 5000, 10,000 fibers/L) attach to the algal pieces of Pyropia yezoensis under laboratory conditions. The average abundance of microfibers on the nori was positively and quantitatively related to their abundances in seawater (p 
ISSN:0304-3894
1873-3336
DOI:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122060