High-Efficiency Microplastic Sampling Device Improved Using CFD Analysis

Seonghyeon Ju, Jongchan Yi, Junho Lee, Jiyoon Kim, Chaehwi Lim, Jihoon Lee, Kyungtae Kim and Yeojoon Yoon ()
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Seonghyeon Ju: Department of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju 26493, Republic of Korea
Jongchan Yi: Water Environmental Safety Management Department, K-Water, Daejeon 34045, Republic of Korea
Junho Lee: Department of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju 26493, Republic of Korea
Jiyoon Kim: Department of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju 26493, Republic of Korea
Chaehwi Lim: Department of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju 26493, Republic of Korea
Jihoon Lee: Department of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju 26493, Republic of Korea
Kyungtae Kim: Department of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju 26493, Republic of Korea
Yeojoon Yoon: Department of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju 26493, Republic of Korea

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: Since microplastics are considered harmful to the human body, studies on their samplings, pretreatments and analyses environmental media, such as water, are continuously being conducted. However, a standard sampling and pretreatment method must be established, particularly because microplastics of a few micrometers in size are easily affected by external contamination. In this study, a microplastic sampling device was designed and developed to obtain a high recovery rate of microplastics and prevent plastics contamination during all processes. For the evaluation of the developed device, microplastic reference materials were produced and used, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed. This device has not only been applied to the relatively large previously studied microplastics (100 µm) but also to microplastics of approximately 20 µm that are vulnerable to contamination. A recovery rate of 94.2% was obtained using this device, and the particles were separated by filtration through a three-stage cassette. In conclusion, we propose a method to increase the accuracy and reproducibility of results for microplastic contamination in the environment. This method is able to consistently obtain and manage microplastics data, which are often difficult to compare using various existing methods.

Keywords: microplastics; sampling device; CFD analysis; recovery rate; size classification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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