Session: Undergraduate Research Posters: Environmental Chemistry:

Microplastics are microparticles derived from plastic. Although they are microscopic, they have the same chemical composition as a common plastic, so they may have the same negative effect. It is necessary to study the presence of them because they affect the food chain in most ecosystems. Additionally, in Puerto Rico, studies of microplastics are few and this is the first known research done in this beach. The objectives of this research were to quantify and classify microplastics present in sand and water samples. The samples to be analyzed were taken from Los Limones Beach in Guayama, Puerto Rico. This is a public beach in the south of the island. Samples were taken from August to December 2020, at three specific coordinates. One liter of water was collected and one kilogram of the sand samples, were collected within a 0.25 m quadrant at approximately three centimeters deep. The sand sample was dried at 60°C for 48 hours, sifted to eliminate large particles, and microparticles were separated using the method of density separation with a NaCl solution. The water samples were filtered with a 0.45 µm filter paper. After filtering, the recovered material in the filter was dried, and observed, and identified under the microscope. This poster presents the amount and classification of the recovered particles in the different samples and sampling dates.

Ana Trujillo

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