Investigation of microplastics in community well water in Banda Aceh, Indonesia: a separation technique using polyethersulfone-poloxamer membrane

Microplastics (MPs) pose a substantial challenge to the environment and have life-threatening implications for organisms, including humans. To overcome this challenge, several investigations have been conducted, including adsorption with a specific absorbent, manual and modified sand filtration columns, and ultrafiltration using polymers. However, microplastic removal using these methods remains limited in certain cases; hence, an optimal method is required to separate MPs from water. The aim of this study was to remove MPs from community water wells in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, using a polyether sulfone (PES) membrane modified with poloxamer surfactants and patchouli oil. Membranes were created using the phase inversion method to form an asymmetrical structure with a top-to-bottom pore distribution. Community well water samples were collected from numerous points in Banda Aceh City. This was followed by analysis before and after filtration using a microscope and FTIR spectroscopy to determine the shape and type of MPs. The results revealed fiber- and film-shaped MPs detected in the well water of each community examined in this study. The FTIR analysis demonstrated that MP contamination was dominated by polyethylene and polypropylene plastics, consistent with the trend observed across Asia. Nonetheless, MP contamination could be eliminated by an ultrafiltration process using a membrane. In this study, the removal of MPs using the membrane delivered significant results. Pure PES membranes can eliminate up to 87.5% of MPs from water samples. However, the PES membrane containing poloxamer and patchouli oil delivered 100% rejection.