Quantification and Characterization
of Microplastics in Kanke Lake,
a Freshwater System of Ranchi,
Jharkhand, India
Vicky Singh and Sukalyan Chakraborty
Abstract Plastics of particle size less than 5 mm are termed as microplastics. These
are one of the most influential emerging contaminants, in terms of sustainable water
resource. The present study shows the degradation of quality of freshwater systems
in terms of occurrence and abundance of microplastics in surface water and sediments of freshwater systems, which leads to degradation of drinking water quality.
This study was executed on Kanke dam (a lake), located in Ranchi district, which
is the prime source of drinking water for the population of urban settlements. The
sampling was carried out in three stretches, i.e., pisciculture area, water supply area
and Ranchi municipal park area. The sampling of surface water is done with the help
of Manta net, fabricated using mesh size of 125 µm, and sediments were collected
with the help of trawl in aluminum foil. The trapped particles in Manta net were
collected and sieved through 63 µm sieve. The raw sample was purified using H 2 O 2
in presence of Fenton’s reagent which acts as catalyst, followed by density separation
using NaCl. The supernatant was collected on filter paper and quantified using stereomicroscope (fluorescence microscopy). The concentration of microplastic particles
was maximum in pisciculture area followed by park area and water supply area.
The count of microplastics particles quantified was 300 particles in 100 m
3 of water.
The chemical nature of the collected microplastics was identified using FTIR technique. Polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene (low-density and high-density) and
polyurethane were common polymers observed in the samples. Identification of the
chemical nature of the microplastics indicates their probable sources and thus can
be a useful tool to minimize the abundance by source correction.
Keywords Microplastics · Abundance · ATR-FTIR · Freshwater systems · Sources
V. Singh · S. Chakraborty (B)
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra,
Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
e-mail: sukalyanchakraborty@bitmesra.ac.in
V. Singh
e-mail: singhvickey2009@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
C. Bhuiyan et al. (eds.), Water Security and Sustainability,
Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering 115,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9805-0_23
271
of Microplastics in Kanke Lake,
a Freshwater System of Ranchi,
Jharkhand, India
Vicky Singh and Sukalyan Chakraborty
Abstract Plastics of particle size less than 5 mm are termed as microplastics. These
are one of the most influential emerging contaminants, in terms of sustainable water
resource. The present study shows the degradation of quality of freshwater systems
in terms of occurrence and abundance of microplastics in surface water and sediments of freshwater systems, which leads to degradation of drinking water quality.
This study was executed on Kanke dam (a lake), located in Ranchi district, which
is the prime source of drinking water for the population of urban settlements. The
sampling was carried out in three stretches, i.e., pisciculture area, water supply area
and Ranchi municipal park area. The sampling of surface water is done with the help
of Manta net, fabricated using mesh size of 125 µm, and sediments were collected
with the help of trawl in aluminum foil. The trapped particles in Manta net were
collected and sieved through 63 µm sieve. The raw sample was purified using H 2 O 2
in presence of Fenton’s reagent which acts as catalyst, followed by density separation
using NaCl. The supernatant was collected on filter paper and quantified using stereomicroscope (fluorescence microscopy). The concentration of microplastic particles
was maximum in pisciculture area followed by park area and water supply area.
The count of microplastics particles quantified was 300 particles in 100 m
3 of water.
The chemical nature of the collected microplastics was identified using FTIR technique. Polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene (low-density and high-density) and
polyurethane were common polymers observed in the samples. Identification of the
chemical nature of the microplastics indicates their probable sources and thus can
be a useful tool to minimize the abundance by source correction.
Keywords Microplastics · Abundance · ATR-FTIR · Freshwater systems · Sources
V. Singh · S. Chakraborty (B)
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra,
Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
e-mail: sukalyanchakraborty@bitmesra.ac.in
V. Singh
e-mail: singhvickey2009@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
C. Bhuiyan et al. (eds.), Water Security and Sustainability,
Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering 115,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9805-0_23
271