Week 2
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| Figure 1: Treating process on SPI #3 |
The second week of the spring semester at kicked off great. I’m glad I met my mentor Dr. Cotter yet again to discuss our research. This week was all about making sure none of my treated plastics are contaminated. An efficient way to sterilize micro-plastics is to use 100% isopropanol. The method is not that complicated. First, you prepare the alcohol solution (100% isopropanol) and pour it into a 250 ml beaker (could pick any beaker, but make sure you have enough room). The volume of the alcohol doesn’t matter, so I used 10 ml. After pouring the alcohol solution on the beaker, the four different types of plastic (SPI 3, 4, 5, 6) were transferred (clean spatula or forceps) into the beaker containing alcohol solution four hot plates were prepared for the evaporation process and left soaked for twenty-four hours. A day later the four beakers containing microplastics and alcohol were put on the hot plate for the heating process. The last and fun part is turning on the hot plate and watch the alcohol evaporate. Two things to make sure when heating 100% isopropanol is to; first, never seal the beaker so that pressure can escape and not break the beaker (use foil with a little opening). Second is to not be close to the evaporating alcohol because 100% isopropanol causes nausea, vomiting, dizziness, etc.
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