From 11 August to 5 September, the Faculty of Environmental Protection is hosting a student from our partner institution, Transilvania University of Brașov, within the framework of the Erasmus+ international mobility programme. Gheorghe-Adrian Boricean, an undergraduate student at the Faculty of Product Design and Environment, will carry out practical training at FVO on the topic Monitoring, Detection and Analysis of Microplastics in the Environment.
Under the mentorship of Assist. Prof. Dr. Anja Bubik and master’s student Aljoša Krajnc, he will be involved in international projects addressing issues related to plastics and microplastics in the environment, as well as the development of innovative solutions to reduce pollution and promote the circular economy: PLASTIX (Interreg Europe), Edu4PlasticCircular, and GreenGate 2.
His work will involve both laboratory and field research, with a particular focus on the development and optimisation of methods for detecting microplastics in various environmental samples. Planned activities include:
- reviewing and improving methods for sampling and analysing microplastics in sediments,
- testing and applying sampling methods in water and sediments,
- fieldwork and chemical analyses of microplastics as part of the PLASTIX project,
- regular weekly sampling and analysis of microplastics in the Paka River,
- preparing a plan for transferring sampling protocols to a research site in Romania,
- improving methodologies based on laboratory tests and literature review.
Through this work, the student will gain an in-depth understanding of microplastic pollution in rivers and sediments, refine field and laboratory methods, learn to use advanced analytical techniques such as FTIR and microscopy, and develop the skills to independently design and implement environmental monitoring programmes.
We look forward to the results of his work and believe that his training will make an important contribution to advancing knowledge and good practices in the field of microplastics research.
