IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF PLASTIC PARTICLES FOUND IN THE LOWER DANUBE RIVER

Excessive production and use of plastic materials, followed by the mismanagement of plastic waste have favoured the increase of plastic particles occurrence in aquatic ecosystems. Ingestion of plastic fragments (especially micro- and nanoplastics) by aquatic fauna can lead to various diseases and disorders, which is why monitoring of plastics presence in the aquatic environment is vital. To identify the presence of plastic particles in environmental samples, several methods such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, microscopy, thermal extraction desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry have been applied in the literature. In the present paper, attenuated total reflectance - FTIR spectroscopy was used to identify and characterize plastics debris found in the Lower Danube water, near the Galati City. Plastic particles collected had different shapes (i.e fragments, films, granules) and colours (blue, red, colourless). Based on infrared spectra obtained, polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) were the main polymers identified in the collected samples.