There has recently been a significant increase in interest regarding the prevalence of microplastics in bottled water. Previous studies have shown that the composition of many of the microplastics in bottled water is consistent with the materials of the bottle and bottle cap. The focus of this study is to quantify microplastic particle generation from the cap and bottle interaction during open and close cycles. Nile Red dye was used for the detection of microplastics >4.7 μm in size. Microplastic contamination levels in the water were found to increase as the bottle cap is opened and closed repeatedly. The rate of generation of particles with bottle opening and closing cycles (553 ± 202 microplastics/L/cycle) is adequate to account for the total particle density in the water. This clearly demonstrates that the abrasion between the bottle cap and bottleneck is the dominant mechanism for the generation of microplastic contamination detected in bottled water. A large spread between the maximum and minimum levels of microplastic contamination for bottles from the same lot, regardless of the number of times the cap is opened and closed, suggests that mechanical tolerances in the manufacturing of bottles and caps might play an important role in microplastic generation.

最近，人们对瓶装水中微塑料普遍存在的兴趣显着增加。此前的研究表明，瓶装水中许多微塑料的成分与瓶身和瓶盖的材质是一致的。这项研究的重点是量化在打开和关闭循环期间瓶盖和瓶子相互作用产生的微塑料颗粒。尼罗红染料用于检测尺寸 >4.7 μm 的微塑料。发现水中的微塑料污染水平随着瓶盖的反复打开和关闭而增加。开瓶和关瓶循环（553 ± 202 微塑料/升/循环）的颗粒产生率足以说明水中的总颗粒密度。这清楚地表明瓶盖和瓶颈之间的磨损是瓶装水中检测到的微塑料污染产生的主要机制。无论瓶盖打开和关闭的次数如何，同一批次的瓶子的最大和最小微塑料污染水平之间存在很大差异，这表明瓶子和瓶盖制造中的机械公差可能在微塑料中发挥重要作用一代。