Plastics Are Everywhere For Shore
Level of Education of Students Involved
Undergraduate
Faculty Sponsor
Julie Peller
College
Arts and Sciences
Discipline(s)
chemistry, data science
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Symposium Date
Spring 4-25-2024
Abstract
Since the mass production of plastic began, large amounts have ended up in the oceans and other bodies of water, disintegrating into highly mobile microplastics (less than 5 mm in size) that wash up onto the beach. Studies from several locations have shown that microplastics have been found on beaches throughout the world. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the presence of microplastics on two local Lake Michigan beaches and to observe if any of the plastics showed signs of weathering. Samples of sand were collected from two locations, Miller Beach and Porter Beach, on January 31st, 2024. Larger macro- and microplastic samples, ranging from 3-35mm in size, were taken from the surface, while microplastics were also taken from depths of down to 48 cm; both were taken from random locations across the beaches. The plastics were separated by sieves and density separation techniques, first using water and then with a 1.338 g/mL zinc chloride water solution. The plastic was analyzed using IR and Raman spectroscopy. The samples analyzed using the Raman spectroscopy suggested the presence of microplastics below surface level. The IR analysis concluded that the majority of plastics found in the sand were polypropylene and polyethylene plastics, some spectra showing possible signs of weathering by the presence of the C=O bond, or carbonyl index.
Recommended Citation
Pasco, Emma; Cleveland, Siobhan; Odle, Cheyann; Hartnett, Colin; Caldwell, Cady; Isreal, Micah; Brown, Cammay; and Jenny, Stephen, "Plastics Are Everywhere For Shore" (2024). Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 1327.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/cus/1327
