RT journal article
T1 Analysis of microplastics in the reuse of compost in three agricultural sites (Cádiz, Spain) as a circular economy strategy: detection of micropollutants and incidence of plastic ingestion levels by annelids
A1 Sakali, Ayda
A1 Egea-Corbacho Lopera, Agata
A1 Coello Oviedo, María Dolores
A1 Albendín García, María Gemma
A1 Arellano López, Juana María
A1 Rodríguez Barroso, María del Rocío
A2 Tecnologías del Medio Ambiente
K1 Microplastics
K1 Compost
K1 Southern Spain
K1 Soil
K1 Annelids
K1 PTFE
AB The system of fertilizing agricultural soils with sludge or compost from wastewater treatment processes, as one of the principlesof the circular economy, can lead to microplastic (MP) contamination. The existing technical standards for fertilization are veryrecent and do not consider this problem, although there is scientific evidence of their existence. Therefore, this study, on the onehand, evaluates the presence of MPs in agricultural soils, previously treated with sludge or compost from wastewater treatmentplants for fertilization, and on the second hand, it studies the effect of these MPs on earthworms in three different locations in thesouth of Spain. For the study, selected composts deriving from the different stages of the composting process and three fertilizedsoils with increasing MP doses were followed. Samples were taken from different sections in depth (0–5, 5–10, and 10–20 cm) tostudy the shape, size, type, and abundance of MPs using infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed that the most abundantshape was fiber, followed by fragment and finally bulk, for both composts and soils. Regarding size distribution, 100 μm wasthe predominant size in composts (64.3% ± 9.8), while in the case of soils, the predominant range was from 100 to 500 μm. Theprevalent polymers in both, composts and soils, were PTFE, TPE, PP, and PET, with four times higher amounts in composts thanin soils. Ingestion of common MPs were also verified in two earthworm species, which ingested concentrations higher than 2.1%w/w. PP was the most ingested MP and Eisenia fetida was more voracious compared with Lumbricus terrestris. Therefore, it canbe considered a suitable bioindicator for monitoring microplastic contamination in agricultural soil.
PB Springer
SN 1614-7499
YR 2024
FD 2024-08-10
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/35932
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/35932
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 07-nov-2026