Microplastics analysis in Malaysian marine waters: A field study of Kuala Nerus and Kuantan

Highlights: • First evaluation the emergence of microplastic in the Malaysian marine water • Black or grey colour, high density (>1.02 g cm⁻³), was the dominant type of microplastics in all samples. • Six polymer materials were identified using ATR-FTIR. - Abstract: The first report on the emergence of microplastic in Malaysian marine waters was documented in this study. Water samples were collected from two regions, namely Kuala Nerus and Kuantan port, as the representatives of different anthropogenic activities. Identification of microplastic was performed based on physical characteristics (colour, shape, density) and chemical characterisation (ATR-FTIR analysis) for a functional group of polymers. Fragment type, black or grey colour and high density (>1.02 g cm⁻³) of microplastic were the most prevalent characteristics found in both areas. Two principal components (density and colour) rendered explained about 95.3% (Kuantan) and 95.6% (Kuala Nerus) of the total variance. Six possible polymer materials were identified, namely polyester, polystyrene, polyamide, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, and polyethylene. The findings of the study provided good baseline information on marine debris issue in Malaysia.