Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Assessment of oxygen kinetic parameters for closely related ammonia-oxidizing bacteria.

Letters in applied microbiology·2024

Same author

Real-time stimulated Raman spectroscopy with a non-collinear optical parametric oscillator.

Optics express·2021

Same author

Calcium carbonate deposits and microbial assemblages on microplastics in oligotrophic freshwaters.

Chemosphere·2020

Same author

Small Sample Stress: Probing Oxygen-Deprived Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria with Raman Spectroscopy In Vivo.

Microorganisms·2020

Same author

pH-Dependent Conformational Changes of KcsA Tetramer and Monomer Probed by Raman Spectroscopy.

International journal of molecular sciences·2019

Same author

Microplastics Detection in Streaming Tap Water with Raman Spectroscopy.

Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)·2019

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 1, 2026

Separation and Identification of Conventional Microplastics from Farmland Soils

Separation and Identification of Conventional Microplastics from Farmland Soils

Published on: March 21, 2025

Heat and Bleach: A Cost-Efficient Method for Extracting Microplastics from Return Activated Sludge.

Surya Sujathan¹, Ann-Kathrin Kniggendorf², Arun Kumar³

¹Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur, 208016, India.

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

|May 28, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces an efficient method for extracting microplastics from sludge using hydrogen peroxide and density separation, achieving 78% efficiency for particles 20 µm and larger within 24 hours.

More Related Videos

Scalable Step-by-Step Approach of Sustainable Bioplastic Production from Food Waste

Scalable Step-by-Step Approach of Sustainable Bioplastic Production from Food Waste

Published on: July 18, 2025

Extraction of Organochlorine Pesticides from Plastic Pellets and Plastic Type Analysis

Extraction of Organochlorine Pesticides from Plastic Pellets and Plastic Type Analysis

Published on: July 1, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 1, 2026

Separation and Identification of Conventional Microplastics from Farmland Soils

Separation and Identification of Conventional Microplastics from Farmland Soils

Published on: March 21, 2025

Scalable Step-by-Step Approach of Sustainable Bioplastic Production from Food Waste

Scalable Step-by-Step Approach of Sustainable Bioplastic Production from Food Waste

Published on: July 18, 2025

Extraction of Organochlorine Pesticides from Plastic Pellets and Plastic Type Analysis

Extraction of Organochlorine Pesticides from Plastic Pellets and Plastic Type Analysis

Published on: July 1, 2017

Area of Science:

Environmental Science
Analytical Chemistry
Materials Science

Background:

Microplastic extraction from sludge is difficult due to complex organic matter and interfering particles.
Existing methods are time-consuming, costly, and yield small sample sizes, increasing bias risk.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and validate an improved, efficient method for microplastic extraction from return activated sludge (RAS).
To assess the efficiency and limitations of the new extraction technique for various microplastic sizes.

Main Methods:

Treatment of 100 ml RAS with 6% hydrogen peroxide at 70°C for bleaching.
Density separation using sodium nitrate/sodium thiosulfate (SNT) solution.
Chemical analysis of extracted particles using confocal Raman microscopy.

Main Results:

The improved method extracts microplastics from sludge within 24 hours.
An extraction efficiency of 78% ± 8% was achieved for plastic particles ≥ 20 µm.
Density separation proved unreliable for particles < 20 µm, as evidenced by remaining glass shards.

Conclusions:

The developed method offers a faster and more efficient approach to microplastic extraction from sludge compared to traditional techniques.
The study highlights the limitations of density separation for smaller microplastic particles (< 20 µm).
Further research may be needed to optimize extraction for smaller microplastic fragments.