Fractionated filtration for isolation of microplastics from bottled water

Plenty of research has been performed to quantify microplastics in bottled water. Therefore, general practices for microplastics analysis have been proposed to ensure reliable results and a standardized method. An adequate sample volume is a relevant parameter as the microplastics concentration per size range varies with it, being higher for small particles (<100µm) and lower for large particles (>300µm). Therefore, a representative volume of the sample is needed to estimate correctly the content of particles. In this work, an isolation methodology of fractionated filtration is implemented for bottled water processing to ease the processing of larger sample volumes and reduce sample contamination by limiting the contact of the sample with the environment during the filtration. The experimental process compares the performance of the traditional fractionated filtration in sequential filtrations to the method proposed.