A Preliminary Study of Microplastic Abrasion from the Screw Cap System of Reusable Plastic Bottles by Raman Microspectroscopy

Abstract

The packaging material of bottled water is suspected to be a source of microplastics (MP). In this preliminary study, the screw cap system was examined for its MP release potential. Therefore, the concentration of MP (≥10 μm) was determined in reusable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles with polypropylene (PP) caps and polyethylene (PE) seals after opening and closing once and 11 times. The entire contents of the bottles were filtered onto a silicon filter after opening. The inside of the bottles and caps was rinsed with filtered water. The total Si filter area was analyzed by Raman microspectroscopy. After one opening, 131 ± 25 microplastic particles (MPP) per liter were detected. After 11 openings and closings, 242 ± 64 MPP/L were detected. The increase is caused by a significant increase in the number of PP particles from 100 ± 27 to 185 ± 52 MPP/L. The concentration of PE and PET particles did not change significantly. Regardless of polymer type and the number of openings and closings, 80% of the MPP were identified in the smallest size class investigated (10−50 μm). Using a specially developed method, the concentration of MPP was determined before the screw cap system was opened and did not differ from the procedural blank.

Cutting Boards: An Overlooked Source of Microplastics in Human Food?

“…Previous studies also reported microplastics smaller than 100 μm mostly dominant in food. For instance, microparticles released from plastic tea bags were of 50–100 μm size, from baby feeding plastic bottles were of 20–50 μm size, and bottled water were of 10–50 μm size . Smaller microplastics in this size range have been reported toxic to human-derived cells as they can translocate in human tissues by cellular and paracellular transport and create different health consequences. , …”

“…For instance, microparticles released from plastic tea bags were of 50−100 μm size, 26 from baby feeding plastic bottles were of 20−50 μm size, 21 and bottled water were of 10−50 μm size. 23 Smaller microplastics in this size range have been reported toxic to human-derived cells as they can translocate in human tissues by cellular and paracellular transport and create different health consequences. 46,57 Spherical microplastics (shape factor > 0.63) were dominant in all of the considered chopping scenarios.…”

“…Another study reported daily human ingestion of 1530 microplastics via food and 587 microplastics via drinking water . Reported human uptake of microplastics varies significantly from study to study; however, ingestion of microplastics via food and inhalation have been established as the primary pathways of microplastics entry into the human body. ,− Food and liquids can be contaminated with microplastics from plastic food preparation utensils, packaging, or storage containers. − For instance, polypropylene infant feeding bottles can expose infants to 16.2 million particles per liter of liquid . A single plastic teabag at brewing temperature (95 °C) was found to release 11.6 billion microplastics and 3.1 billion nanoplastics (NPs) into a single cup of tea .…”

Converting Plastic Nuisance into a Valuable Resource: Reuse of Residual Plastic Bottles for Manufacturing (3D) Home Printers Under Economic and Improved Environmental Considerations

“…Detailed information concerning the many sizes of plastic contaminants has been previously analyzed (Saarela et al 2015;Esiukova et al 2020). The anticipated destructive consequences of the adverse impact of the polluting elements can be identi ed by application of the μ-Raman spectroscopy analysis (Giese et al 2021). According to the μ-Raman spectroscopy, the polymer forms, types of synthetic dyes, images of MPs, the hit ratio between the specimen spectra and reference spectra can be recognized (Esiukova et al 2020).…”

“…However, the organic properties of organosilanes can be adjusted to diverse types of polymers. For example, a screw cap system was examined for its MP release potential (Giese et al 2021). In this study, the concentration of the MP (≥10 μm) was determined in reusable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles with polypropylene (PP) caps and polyethylene (PE) seals after opening and closing of the bottles several times.…”