Microplastic evidence and removal from the seaweed bioremediator Chaetomorpha linum

This study represents an attempt to evaluate the presence and removal of microplastics from the seaweed Chaetomorpha linum collected in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto and then transplanted in an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system (IMTA), including macroalgae and other marine bioremediators in addition to reared fishes. Microplastics were removed from the seaweed by a procedure based on density separation by using three hypersaline solution extractions. The microplastics were classified in different shapes, dimensions and colours and some of them were analyzed through attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy to assess their chemical composition. The here realized simple procedure allowed to remove microplastics from algae thus suggesting the potential employment of the studied algal species as a source of human food.