Large Scale Microplastic Fibre Analysis in Wastewater: A Comprehensive Review and Recommendations
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Date
2025
Authors
Tarte, J.V.
Ahmed, M.B.
Tra, V.-T.
Wang, Q.
Johir, M.A.H.
Nghiem, L.D.
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Current Pollution Reports, 2025; 11(1):49-1-49-18
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James V. Tarte, Mohammad Boshir Ahmed, Van-Tung Tra, Qilin Wang, Md Abu Hasan Johir, Long D. Nghiem
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Abstract
Purpose of Review This review provides a critical analysis of current and emerging methods for identifying and quantifying microplastic fibres (MPF) in wastewater, covering all key steps of sample collection, pretreatment, and analytical analysis. There are currently no universally accepted standards for collecting and analysing MPF. This review aims to provide new insights to develop appropriate processes for collecting and analysing MPF in wastewater through a critical analysis of the literature. Recent Findings Previous studies have used non-selective grab sampling and stacked sieving apparatuses to collect and/or sort microplastics, but very few have been specifically applied to MPF. Hydrogen peroxide ( H₂O₂) digestion is the most widely used for sample preparation prior to MPF analysis. MPF quantification by manual counting under an optical microscope is possible but is inefficient and unable to meet the required level of accuracy. Either micro–Fourier Transport Infrared (μFTIR) or μ-Raman is suitable for polymer identification. They each have distinctive reported strengths and weaknesses, and μFTIR is more appropriate for MPF analysis. Summary Fast and scalable analysis can be achieved with grab sampling for collection, H₂O₂ digestion for pretreatment, filtration using glass fibre or alumina oxide membranes, and then microscopic imaging with fluorene tagging for automated counting. Transmittance μFTIR is the most appropriate tool for polymer identification. Density separation, extensive sample digestion, manual counting, and Raman spectroscopy are not required or incompatible for MPF analysis.
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© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.