Institute of Water Research (IRSA) C.N.R, 74123 Taranto, Italy; Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Via Provinciale Lecce-Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy; National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), 90133 Palermo, Italy.
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Via Provinciale Lecce-Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Dec 1;954:176262. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176262. Epub 2024 Sep 13.
Microplastics (MPs) are emerging pollutants with detrimental impacts on ecosystems and human health. Due to their adverse effects, new strategies to mitigate MP pollution in the marine environment need to be developed urgently. In this context, the capability of the seaweed Chaetomorpha linum (Chlorophyta, Cladophorales) to trap MPs, as well as the effectiveness of a simple washing procedure to clean up the harvested seaweed biomass, were investigated. This algal species was grown in an integrated multitrophic aquaculture system (IMTA), where bioremediator organisms such as macroalgae, polychaetes, sponges and mussels were farmed in the vicinity of the fish cages. MPs trapped in C. linum were classified based on shape and size, and representative samples of each shape were analysed by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy to evaluate their chemical composition. Fibre MPs were the most abundant (97.3 %), while the size ranged from 0.025 to 2.00 mm, with most samples being in the size range 0.80-1.00 mm. MPs were composed mainly of polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyethylene. They were efficiently removed from the cultured seaweeds by a simple density separation procedure, consisting of three extractions with hypersaline solutions of sodium chloride. These results suggest that C. linum cultivated in an IMTA system can be proposed as a bioremediator to capture MPs from the surrounding environment. At the same time, harvested and cleaned green seaweeds may be considered a co-product of the bioremediation process and can find application in several biotechnological fields including the use as a food source for human consumption.
微塑料（MPs）是一种新兴污染物，对生态系统和人类健康有不利影响。由于其不良影响，需要紧急开发新的策略来减轻海洋环境中的 MP 污染。在这种情况下，研究了海藻 Chaetomorpha linum（绿藻门，Cladophorales）捕获 MPs 的能力，以及一种简单的清洗程序来清理收获的海藻生物质的有效性。这种藻类在综合多营养水产养殖系统（IMTA）中生长，在该系统中，生物修复生物如大型藻类、多毛类、海绵和贻贝在鱼类养殖笼附近养殖。在 C. linum 中捕获的 MPs 根据形状和大小进行分类，并对每种形状的代表性样品进行衰减全反射傅里叶变换红外（ATR-FTIR）光谱分析，以评估其化学成分。纤维 MPs 最为丰富（97.3%），而大小范围从 0.025 到 2.00mm，大多数样品的大小范围在 0.80-1.00mm 之间。MPs 主要由聚丙烯、聚苯乙烯和聚乙烯组成。它们可以通过简单的密度分离程序从培养的海藻中有效去除，该程序包括用氯化钠的高盐溶液进行三次提取。这些结果表明，在 IMTA 系统中培养的 C. linum 可以作为一种生物修复剂，从周围环境中捕获 MPs。同时，收获和清洁的绿色海藻可以被视为生物修复过程的一种副产物，并可以在包括作为人类食用的食物来源在内的几个生物技术领域中找到应用。
