A low-cost system to simulate environmental microplastic weathering

Andrade, J.M.; Fernández-González, V.; López-Mahı́a, Purificación; Muniategui-Lorenzo, Soledad

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110663

Cited by 62 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 53 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…However, both can be performed in a low-cost, self-made aging chamber, 3 or systems emulating specific environments. 4 Additionally, since degradation is more intense on the surface, sampling microplastics from an already degraded piece, by milling layers in different depths using a computer numerical control (CNC) machine, also allows samples of the same polymer to be obtained, with the same original formulation, but different levels of degradation. 5 To address point (2), a more standardized characterization of the extent of physical and chemical weathering and degradation should also be included to allow interlaboratory comparisons and good reproducibility.…”

Section: ■ Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastic Research Should Embrace the Complexity of Secondary Particles

Waldman

Rillig

2020

Environ. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: ■ Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastic Research Should Embrace the Complexity of Secondary Particles

Waldman

Rillig

2020

Environ. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…No formal drying was conducted prior to spectroscopy; therefore, the new peak at around 3300 cm –1 in spectra could be due to residual water on these particles. However, laboratory studies of plastic weathering report this as a common spectral change due to oxidation. − Overall, the results from both changes in spectral peaks and PCA confirm that variations among spectra of the same polymer type exist, and these differences are likely due to environmental degradation altering the chemical structure of plastic particles. Although we cannot determine how long each particle used for the FLOPP-e library had been in the environment, from these results, we can presume that spectra for which the effects of environmental aging are more evident within their spectra may have been in the environment for a longer period before sampling.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

μATR-FTIR Spectral Libraries of Plastic Particles (FLOPP and FLOPP-e) for the Analysis of Microplastics

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Raman spectral libraries specific to microplastics demonstrated improved spectral matching results when weathered plastics and a variety of particle colors and morphologies were included. Here, we explore if this is true for Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as well. We present two novel databases specific to microplastics using attenuated total reflection (μATR-FTIR): (1) an FTIR library of plastic particles (FLOPP), containing 186 spectra from common plastic items, across 14 polymer types and (2) an FTIR library of plastic particles sourced from the environment (FLOPP-e), containing 195 spectra across 15 polymer types. Both libraries include particles from a variety of sources, morphologies, and colors. We demonstrate the applicability of these libraries for microplastics research by comparing spectral match results from two microplastic datasets. For this, we use different combinations of libraries including: commercially available reference libraries, an open-access polymer library, and FLOPP and FLOPP-e. Among tests, the greatest mean HQI result was achieved when the greatest number of libraries was included. This work demonstrates that spectral libraries specific to plastic particles found in the environment improve the accuracy of spectral matching and are best used in combination with commercial libraries containing chemical components that are commonly found within plastics and other anthropogenic particles. Multivariate principal component analyses of FLOPP and FLOPP-e spectra confirmed differences among polymer types and higher variation in principal component scores among weathered particles, but no patterns were observed among particle colors or morphologies. These results demonstrate that ATR-FTIR analyses are sensitive to weathering of plastics but not to particle color and morphology.

show abstract

“…Once in the aquatic environment, abiotic factors change the morphology and mechanical properties of both the surface and bulk phase of plastics. Photooxidation leads to the formation of polar functional groups such as carbonyl groups in most polymers, − hence decreasing their surface hydrophobicity . Chain scission, cross-linking reactions, and leaching of additives also occurs, which has a direct effect on molar mass and mechanical properties. − An increase in crystallinity (and brittleness) occurs for semicrystalline polymers such as polyethylene as a result of chain scissions in amorphous regions. , Even without mechanical stress, cracks occur due to photooxidation, which increases fragmentation. ,, X-ray tomography imaging of marine plastics has shown they contain surface cracks that run toward their center …”

Section: Exposure and Weatheringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weathering Plastics as a Planetary Boundary Threat: Exposure, Fate, and Hazards

Arp

Kühnel

Rummel

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

201

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We described in 2017 how weathering plastic litter in the marine environment fulfils two of three criteria to impose a planetary boundary threat related to "chemical pollution and the release of novel entities": (1) planetary-scale exposure, which (2) is not readily reversible. Whether marine plastics meet the third criterion, (3) eliciting a disruptive impact on vital earth system processes, was uncertain. Since then, several important discoveries have been made to motivate a re-evaluation. A key issue is if weathering macroplastics, microplastics, nanoplastics, and their leachates have an inherently higher potential to elicit adverse effects than natural particles of the same size. We summarize novel findings related to weathering plastic in the context of the planetary boundary threat criteria that demonstrate (1) increasing exposure, (2) fate processes leading to poorly reversible pollution, and (3) (eco)toxicological hazards and their thresholds. We provide evidence that the third criterion could be fulfilled for weathering plastics in sensitive environments and therefore conclude that weathering plastics pose a planetary boundary threat. We suggest future research priorities to better understand (eco)toxicological hazards modulated by increasing exposure and continuous weathering processes, to better parametrize the planetary boundary threshold for plastic pollution.

show abstract

A low-cost system to simulate environmental microplastic weathering

Cited by 62 publications

References 53 publications

Microplastic Research Should Embrace the Complexity of Secondary Particles

Microplastic Research Should Embrace the Complexity of Secondary Particles

μATR-FTIR Spectral Libraries of Plastic Particles (FLOPP and FLOPP-e) for the Analysis of Microplastics

Weathering Plastics as a Planetary Boundary Threat: Exposure, Fate, and Hazards

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About