Textile Fibers as Reference Materials for Microplastic Release
- Fibers of textile origin are named as high contributor for microplastic pollution in the environment next to e.g. plastics from packaging, tire wear and paints. Small fibers and fragments (microplastics: 1-1000 µm) can be released from textiles by mechanical abrasion during application (e.g. wearing) or washing. To date, the occurrence, transport pathways, and impacts of such small fibers on the environment and human health remain unclear.
The European Commission revised the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (Directive (EU) 2024/3019) and made monitoring of microplastics mandatory in the next years. Additionally, standards for microplastic detection are developed in the ISO standardization body ISO/TC 147/SC 2 with the documents ISO/DIS 16094-2 and ISO/DIS 16094-3. Detection mainly occurs by thermoanalytical methods for mass or vibrational methods with microscopes for numbers. Such standards and regulatory efforts need validated methods, which themselves need reference materialsFibers of textile origin are named as high contributor for microplastic pollution in the environment next to e.g. plastics from packaging, tire wear and paints. Small fibers and fragments (microplastics: 1-1000 µm) can be released from textiles by mechanical abrasion during application (e.g. wearing) or washing. To date, the occurrence, transport pathways, and impacts of such small fibers on the environment and human health remain unclear.
The European Commission revised the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (Directive (EU) 2024/3019) and made monitoring of microplastics mandatory in the next years. Additionally, standards for microplastic detection are developed in the ISO standardization body ISO/TC 147/SC 2 with the documents ISO/DIS 16094-2 and ISO/DIS 16094-3. Detection mainly occurs by thermoanalytical methods for mass or vibrational methods with microscopes for numbers. Such standards and regulatory efforts need validated methods, which themselves need reference materials for validation.
Reference materials are well characterized materials that are produced for a specific purpose and are homogeneous and stable within one property of interest. The shape and the composition of the reference particles/fibers will affect the detection, hence it is important to validate the instruments with fibers, if this is the task for monitoring campaigns.
This work describes the production of realistic fibers as reference material for microplastic analysis. The individual samples contain of a small number (< 1000) and mass (< 20 µm) of fibres. Homogeneity and stability control occurred by thermogravimetric analysis and µ-Raman. Further characteristics were determined for type, shape and size distribution.…


| Autor*innen: | Korinna AltmannORCiD |
|---|---|
| Koautor*innen: | Frank Milczewski, Tina Rybak, Maximilian Ebisch, Lea Ann Dailey |
| Dokumenttyp: | Vortrag |
| Veröffentlichungsform: | Präsentation |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Jahr der Erstveröffentlichung: | 2025 |
| Organisationseinheit der BAM: | 6 Materialchemie |
| 6 Materialchemie / 6.5 Synthese und Streuverfahren nanostrukturierter Materialien | |
| DDC-Klassifikation: | Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / Chemie / Analytische Chemie |
| Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / Ingenieurwissenschaften / Sanitär- und Kommunaltechnik; Umwelttechnik | |
| Freie Schlagwörter: | Microfiber release; Microfibers; Microplastics; Reference materials |
| Themenfelder/Aktivitätsfelder der BAM: | Chemie und Prozesstechnik |
| Chemie und Prozesstechnik / Chemische Charakterisierung und Spurenanalytik | |
| Umwelt | |
| Umwelt / Umwelt-Material-Interaktionen | |
| Veranstaltung: | TEXTEH |
| Veranstaltungsort: | Bucharest, Romania |
| Beginndatum der Veranstaltung: | 23.10.2025 |
| Verfügbarkeit des Dokuments: | Datei im Netzwerk der BAM verfügbar ("Closed Access") |
| Datum der Freischaltung: | 07.11.2025 |
| Referierte Publikation: | Nein |
| Eingeladener Vortrag (wissenschaftliche Konferenzen): | Ja |

