Characterization and Spatial Abundance of Microplastics in the Coastal Regions of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh: An Integration of Field, Laboratory, and GIS Techniques

ABSTRACT

Accumulation of microplastic in the marine environment is of great concern and has been considered to be a growing problem in the coastal sediments of Bangladesh. This research represents the large-scale abundance, characterization of microplastic contamination, and its type of polymer in the beach sediment of Cox’s Bazar. To understand the potential impacts associated with microplastic pollution in Cox’s Bazar coastal area, quantification, identification, and spatial distribution of the types of microplastic and polymer were done from the collected samples of Cox’s Bazar coastal regions. All sediments analyzed through visual and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) identification contained microplastic particles (<5 mm). The majority of the detected microplastics were found to be fibrous (< 1 mm), which accounted for more than 70% of the total microplastics. Through the use of Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, the study identified the type of polymer present. Evaluation of qualitative measurements of various polymer types has been done, including rayon, nylon, polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), polyurethane (PU), alkyd, epoxy, and the polyethylene–polypropylene copolymer (PE + PP). Quantitative analysis performed and illustrated using analytical tools to document the amount of microplastic (particles 100 g⁻¹). Rayon, nylon, and polyethylene are the most abundant polymers throughout the sampled regions whereas polypropylene which were found to be the least abundant. Microplastic concentration is highest in the regions of Laboni point (111) and Kolatoli (97) in the Cox’s Bazar beach. On the contrary, Himchori (6) and Bardeil (5) areas show the lowest abundance of microplastic that can be correlated with the growth of tourism centered urbanization. The findings of this work can help identify potential sources of microplastics that can be utilized to improve the coastal environment and provide valuable clues to coastal zone management in Cox’s Bazar regions.

KEYWORDS:

• Microplastics
• polymer identification
• spatial distribution
• coastal sediments
• cox’s bazar
• bangladesh

Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to the Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences (CARS), the University of Dhaka for allowing laboratory analyses of the sediment samples. We would like to thank Mahmud Al Noor Tushar, Lecturer, Department of Geology, the University of Dhaka for his cordial support during sample collections. We are also thankful to the Department of Geology, the University of Dhaka for providing the opportunity for laboratory analysis.