The main objective of this project is to check if there are microplastics in bottled water. It is based on the hypothesis that since most plastics end up in seas and oceans, and water follows a cycle, we will also find microplastics in bottled water. To verify this statement, ten brands of bottled water were analyzed, filtering one hundred samples, ten bottles per brand, also analyzing tap water.
Ten commercial brands of water were chosen, trying to cover springs belonging to different areas of the Iberian Peninsula and different commercial surfaces. Each bottle has been opened and filtered with conical filters, a glass funnel and a 250 ml Erlenmeyer flask. The filters have been numbered and allowed to air dry for 24 hours, inside an off stove.
After 24 hours, the filters were poured onto a black cardboard and the area where the filter had been poured was scanned with a 1000x USB digital microscope. Finally, photographs have been taken of the particles found by measuring them with the ImageJ program.
Foreign particles have been found in 83% of the bottles analyzed, the brands with a 100% presence being Nestlé Aquarel, Aqua Deus and Fontvella; while in Solán de Cabras and Teleno only 50%. In all of the analyzed tap water samples we have also found particles that
resemble microplastics.
There are particles that look like microplastics in bottled water, and most of them are between 200 and 1300 microns in size.
You can see the complete project here: ;(Spanish)
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