Microplastics in inland waters (MicBin)

Investigation and Modeling of Entries and Whereabouts in the Danube Area as a Basis for Action Planning

Sampling of microplastics in the field (left) and treatment of a sample in the laboratory (right)

Within the framework of MicBin, the input of macro- and in particular microplastics was investigated in detail for a part of the German Danube catchment area. For this purpose, two large-scale measurement campaigns at selected Danube tributaries, litter collection campaigns as well as targeted laboratory and field experiments were carried out. The resulting data basis as well as supplementary literature data enabled a model-based balancing.

The measurement campaigns are based on a unified sampling and sample preparation approach, as well as on application of different, complementary analytical methods (PyrGC/MS, µ-FTIR, µ-Raman) for microplastics. The focus of the project was on particles with diameters in the range between 10 µm and 500 µm. Sources, sinks and transport processes of plastic were considered via loads in separate material flow models for micro- and macroplastics. The relevance of hitherto hardly studied input pathways such as agricultural areas or atmospheric deposition was determined by standardized sampling and supplementary field experiments. The possible input by fragmentation of larger plastic objects was investigated in laboratory experiments. Results were implemented in existing models, the models were evaluated and a first plastic balance for the German Danube catchment was established.

Get an overview of project MicBin in the short film and learn about the main results and key messages from almost 3.5 years of research work at www.micbin.de.

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