Abstract:

In Spanish universities, at the end of the fourth year, each undergraduate student must demonstrate they have acquired the competences developed during the degree. In order to evaluate this aspect, the student must carry out an autonomous work during the second semester of that year that may consist of bibliographic research, an empirical approach or, in the case of experimental degrees, an experimental work. This Final Degree Project (FDP) should be correctly and carefully written and publicly presented and defended in front of an evaluation panel, following the specific guidelines of each faculty.

In the case of the Degree in Chemistry of the University of La Laguna, that FDP is a second semester subject of 15 ECTS credits in which the students are supervised by one or two professors that should explain to them the characteristics of the project, guiding them in order to ensure the achievement of the objectives established and advising them on how to write the final report and present and defend the results publicly. Finally, the supervisor/s must also evaluate part of the work carried out. In this context, it is essential to choose a topic of interest and establish the activities from which the student can properly and successfully develop such an important subject.
Taking into consideration what has been mentioned, in this work, we propose the development of a FDP for the Degree in Chemistry on a very hot topic nowadays such as research in microplastics. More specifically, we propose the development of an adsorption study of contaminants on microplastics, evaluating the kinetic of the process, studying the isotherm models and evaluating the influence of different parameters on them.

Microplastics are currently considered as emerging contaminants as a result of their effects in living organisms, so their presence in the environment should be monitored and controlled. In last years, it has been observed that these particles are also able to retain some organic contaminants onto their surface, increasing their potential adverse effects. However, the determination of such adsorbed contaminants is a great challenge, that is why laboratories around the world are trying to develop suitable analytical methodologies, being extremely important to first understand what are the retention mechanisms of these contaminants. Bearing this in mind, this FDP presents a special interest, since it will allow the student to enter the study of the mechanisms that give rise to this phenomenon, acquiring the necessary knowledge for the development of new analytical methodologies that allow the determination of different contaminants in microplastics. Likewise, the student will acquire skills in the use of basic laboratory instrumentation as well as approaching the use of advanced instrumentation, which will undoubtedly be very useful in their professional future, both in the academic field and in industry.

Keywords:

Higher education, microplastics, organic contaminants, adsorption studies, Final Degree Project.