A Rapid Monitoring Approach for Microplastics Using Portable Pyrolysis-Mass Spectrometry

Microplastics (MPs) pollution has drawn increasing concern due to its widespread occurrence and potential risks in the environment. The reliable methods and instruments for fast analysis of microplastics (MPs) less than 5 mm are urgently needed. In this study, a new method based on custom-made portable pyrolysis-mass spectrometry (Pyr-MS) is developed, which enables rapid identification and mass related quantification of MPs. MPs are decomposed in the compact pyrolyzer, then directly analyzed in the portable MS by the chemical fingerprints of polymers including characteristic ions and their special ratio. It avoids the complex extraction and separation procedures of the pyrolysis/ thermogravimetric-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Pyr/TGA-GC-MS), realizes the rapid analysis of MPs in 5 minutes, thus can practically apply to a large number of MPs samples. In comparison to fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Raman, this method is not limited by the shape, size, and colour of MPs. Four c...