Chinese Journal of Nature ›› 2021, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (4): 259-266.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2021.04.004

• Review Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Research advances in microplastics in sea salt

CAO Jiong, ZHEN Yu, SHI Chenning, ZHANG Rui, LIU Chunguang   

  1. Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes & Environmental Criteria (Ministry of Education)/Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental
    Remediation & Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
  • Received:2021-04-16 Online:2021-08-25 Published:2023-06-09

Abstract: Since microplastics are found in sea salt, their health risks have attracted widespread attention. This paper reviews the sources, distribution, physical properties, chemical composition, detection techniques and related research advances of microplastics in sea salt, and provides perspectives on future studies. The microplastics in sea salt may come from seawater and processing, and the
abundance of microplastics in the sea salt produced in Asia is relatively high. The sizes of detected microplastics are mostly less than 500 μm, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), and polypropylene (PP) are the main components. The detection techniques of microplastics in sea salt mainly include optical microscopy, spectral analysis, and thermal analysis.