Abstract:
The escalating usage of paper cups and packaging materials with plastic coatings has evolved into a substantial environmental and health concern, evidenced by the report of microplastics in human blood. This research introduces an innovative laser-assisted thermal lens (TL) technique for the precise detection and measurement of microplastics, specifically those leaching from the inner plastic coatings of paper cups. Employing a multipronged approach encompassing scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-visible, and Raman spectroscopy, a comprehensive investigation is conducted into the leaching of microplastics into hot water from paper cups. The thermal diffusivity (D) of water samples containing microplastics is determined using the TL technique based on 120 observations for each temperature conducted using paper cups from three distinct manufacturers. The observation of a strong correlation between the number of microplastic particles (N) and D of the water sample enabled the setting of a linear empirical relation that can be used for computing the microplastics in water at a particular temperature. The study thus proposes a surrogate method for quantifying microplastics in water using the sensitive and non-destructive TL technique.
摘要:
纸杯和带有塑料涂层的包装材料的使用量不断增加,已演变成对环境和健康的重大关注,人类血液中的微塑料报告证明了这一点。这项研究引入了一种创新的激光辅助热透镜(TL)技术,用于精确检测和测量微塑料,特别是那些从纸杯的内部塑料涂层中浸出的。采用包括扫描电子显微镜在内的多管齐下的方法,光学显微镜,原子力显微镜,傅里叶变换红外光谱,UV-可见光,和拉曼光谱,对微塑料从纸杯中浸出到热水中进行了全面调查。含有微塑料的水样品的热扩散率(D)是使用TL技术基于使用三个不同制造商的纸杯对每个温度进行的120次观察而确定的。观察到水样品的微塑料颗粒(N)和D的数量之间的强相关性使得能够设置线性经验关系,该关系可用于计算特定温度下水中的微塑料。因此,该研究提出了一种替代方法,用于使用灵敏且无损的TL技术量化水中的微塑料。