An introduction to microplastics, and its sampling processes and assessment techniques

Microplastics have gained much attention in the past decade as a major environmental threat and thus, the amount of research work done with regard to microplastic assessment has increased drastically. This book chapter provides an overview on microplastics, its prevalence in our environment, and trends in collection and assessment. In Section 9.1, the book chapter gives an introduction on the definition of microplastics, its origin, and possible health-related impacts that could be caused by microplastics. Sections 9.2 and 9.3 detail about the sample collection techniques used currently for collection of samples from different environmental compartments, and separation techniques associated to different environmental samples, respectively. The process of separation is followed by different sample digestion techniques to dissolve the organic layers or biofilm accumulation in the surface of microplastics. The techniques have been discussed in Section 9.4. Finally, the various methods of identification, along with its advantages and disadvantages have been discussed in Section 9.5.