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MASS

Sobre o projeto

The “MASS” project has two main objectives: 
1) To monitor possible sources of microplastics to the coastal environment;
2) To reduce the plastic footprint by (i) promoting the reduction of plastic (mis)use and (ii) assess the potential of microorganisms to biodegrade microplastics.

Generic representation of MASS

Atividades

The first objective of the project focuses on the monitorization of sources of microplastics to the coastal environment. More particularly, to the Ria Formosa, in the Algarve region (Southern Portugal). Among them, I am analysing microplastics from air samples (picture 1), a source of microplastics poorly studied thus far. In parallel, I am sampling coastal waters (picture 2), to see the importance of atmospheric deposition as a source of microplastics to brackish waters. I have also studied the accumulation of microplastics in the sediment, and in sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants.

To accomplish the second objective, I have been looking for microorganisms, namely bacteria, with the potential to “biodegrade” conventional plastics (for example, polyethene or PET, two of the most consumed plastics worldwide) and/or “bio-based” plastics with a biological origin (e.g. bio-based PE and PET). In the framework of the European project PROBIOMA (ERDF-funded; CTM2015-2339) and the FCT-funded project BIOEXTREMDEG, we have recovered bacterial communities from different environments to assess their ability to biodegrade microplastics (picture 3). 

Through the project, I have been developing methods for the proper identification and quantification of microplastics from environmental samples (air, water, sediment, soils, sewage sludge), since there is still no standardized methodology for their analysis. Similarly, I am testing leading-edge methodologies (e.g. micro-FTIR, SEM) to assess the biodegradation of microplastics (picture 4). 

The project also has a strong component on environmental awareness. In collaboration with other colleagues from CCMAR, I have participated in activities aimed to the general public, and more particularly to schools students. On these lines, I am currently involved in the European project “Plastic Pirates”. In this project, which was launched in the spring of 2021 in Portugal, school students collaborate with researchers to monitor plastic waste found along riverbanks across the country. 

The project has the collaboration of Clara Costa, Jorge Carlier and the PhD student Tânia Palma from the ECOREACH group of CCMAR.

 

Posters:

Plastics we do not see, but breathe

Degradation of conventional and biodegradable microplastics in the marine environment

Atmospheric deposition of microplastics in Southern Portugal

 

Publicações

  • C. Van den Auwelant, I. Marín-Beltrán, L. Cozzolino, C. B. de los Santos. Microplastic and organic carbon storage in sediments of intertidal and subtidal seagrass meadows. Under Review.
  • N. Fernández de Villalobos, M. C. Costa and I. Marín-Beltrán, 2022. A community of marine bacteria with potential to biodegrade petroleum-based and biobased microplastics. Marine Pollution Bulletin 185 (Part A):114251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114251 
  • I. Marín-Beltrán, F. Demaria, C. Ofelio, L. M. Serra, A. Turiel, W. J. Ripple, S. A. Mukul, M. C. Costa. Scientists’ Warning Against the Society of Waste, 2022. Science of the Total Environment 811, 151359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151359

Coordenação do CCMAR

Financiamento

FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia