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Quantification and Identification of Microplastics in Organic Fertilizers: The Implication for the Manufacture and Safe Application

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Abstract

The application of organic fertilizers has been suspected as an important source of microplastic (MP) pollution in agricultural soils. However, limited data have been reported regarding the quantity and characteristics of MPs in organic fertilizers, giving rise to the difficulties in their risk assessment. This study investigated the occurrence of MPs in 23 commercial organic fertilizers and two farm composts, covering different raw materials and treatment processes. The average MP concentration in the commercial organic fertilizers was 9210.4 ± 1743.1 items/kg, significantly lower than that in farm composts (24344.1 ± 2697.2 items/kg). Among commercial organic fertilizers, the MP loads varied significantly with the source materials and their processing. Organic fertilizers derived solely or proportionally from plant-derived materials through mechanical shredding and sieving had lower MP abundances. The polymer sizes, morphotypes, and colors of MPs in studied samples were mainly < 3 mm, fiber, and black, respectively. The variations in the MP characteristics implied their diverse sources. This study provided a detailed assessment of MP accumulation in organic fertilizers, and confirmed their significance to the MP pollution in terrestrial ecosystem. The results also highlighted the importance of establishing standards to regulate the contents of plastics in raw materials and end products and the treatment processes for the manufacture, thus ensuring the safe application of organic fertilizers.

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The detailed data used in this manuscript is provided in the supplementary information. If further information is required, it will be provided on request.

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Funding

This research was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (41877361 and 41811530277) and Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (2021A1515011283).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science, College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China

    Jieru Xu, Aiping Yang, Yu Yan, Yuqi Xu, Minyi Tang, Penghui Li, Lanfeng Zhao, Xinming Zhang & Zongling Ren

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  1. Jieru Xu
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  2. Aiping Yang
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  3. Yu Yan
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  4. Yuqi Xu
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  5. Minyi Tang
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  7. Lanfeng Zhao
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  8. Xinming Zhang
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Contributions

Jieru Xu, Aiping Yang, Yu Yan, Yuqi Xu, Minyi Tang, Penghui Li: material preparation, data collection, and analysis; Lanfeng Zhao: methodology and validation; Xinming Zhang: revision of the article; Zongling Ren: funding acquisition, conceptualization, and writing the original draft.

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Correspondence to Xinming Zhang or Zongling Ren.

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11270_2024_6977_MOESM1_ESM.docx

Supplementary file1 Detailed information of the recovery test (Tables S1–S2, Figure S1) and the characteristics of MPs (abundance, size distribution, morphotype, color, and polymer type) in each organic fertilizer sample (Tables S3–S5, Figure S2). (DOCX 76553 KB)

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Xu, J., Yang, A., Yan, Y. et al. Quantification and Identification of Microplastics in Organic Fertilizers: The Implication for the Manufacture and Safe Application. Water Air Soil Pollut 235, 169 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-024-06977-x

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