scholarly journals Time Integrated Metal Accumulation on Pellets in an Industrial Harbour “Durban Harbour”

Microplastics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-14
Author(s):  
Refilwe Precious Mofokeng ◽  
David Glassom

Once in the environment, preproduction plastic polymers between 2–5 mm in size, also known as pellets, can cause physical harm to animals that mistake them for food as they have been reported to accumulate toxic substances, including on their surface. However, the rate of metal enrichment on pellets is not well investigated. In October 2018, Durban experienced a storm that resulted in ±2000 tons of polyethylene pellets being spilt into Durban Harbour, which caused environmental pollution concerns. This event provided a unique opportunity to study metal accumulation on pellets. Pellets were collected at one-month intervals for 6 months following the spill from October 2017 to March 2018, and metal concentrations were compared to concentrations found on pellets collected before the spill. The pellets were digested using a mixture of concentrated nitric acid (55%) and sulphuric acid (60%) at a ratio of 3:1 and analysed for numerous trace metals (Al, As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Fe, Cu, Mn, Ni, and Zn) using the Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Pellets collected in Durban Harbour prior to the spill in a related study (unpublished data) showed higher metal accumulation; however, there was no evident linear increase in metal concentration in pellets over time. ANOVA showed no significant difference for all metals (p > 0.05) in metal concentration between months; however, there was a significant difference between aged and newly introduced pellets.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenna M. DeSousa ◽  
Micaella Z. Jorge ◽  
Hayley B. Lindsay ◽  
Frederick R. Haselton ◽  
David W. Wright ◽  
...  

This work demonstrates the first use of ICP-OES to quantitatively analyze gold content on lateral flow assays.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Izabela Michalak ◽  
Krzysztof Marycz ◽  
Katarzyna Basińska ◽  
Katarzyna Chojnacka

The biomass ofVaucheria sessilisforms algal mats in many freshwaters. There is a need to find the method of algal biomass utilization.Vaucheria sessilisis a rich source of micro- and macronutrients and can be used as a soil amendment. In the paper, the elemental composition of enriched, via bioaccumulation process, macroalga was investigated. For this purpose, two independent techniques were used: scanning electron microscopy with an energy dispersive X-ray analytical system (SEMEDX) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The biomass was exposed to two microelemental solutions, with Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions. After two weeks of the experiment, macroalga accumulated 98.5 mg of Zn(II) ions in 1 g of dry biomass and 68.9 mg g−1of Cu(II) ions. Micrographs performed by SEM proved that bioaccumulation occurred. Metal ions were bound on the surface and in the interior of cells. Mappings of all cations showed that in the case of the surface of biomass (biosorption), the elements constituted aggregations and in the case of the cross section (bioaccumulation) they were evenly distributed. The algal biomass with permanently bound microelements can find an application in many branches of the industry (feed, natural fertilizers, etc.).


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