Environmentally induced colour change during natural degradation of selected polymers

Pastorelli, Gianluca; Cucci, Costanza; García, O.; Piantanida, Giovanna; Elnaggar, Abdelrazek; Cassar, May; Strlič, Matija

doi:10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2013.11.007

Cited by 61 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Plastics typically enter the ocean from land-and marine-based sources, are carried via oceanic currents and dragged by winds, and finally accumulate in open sea and coastal regions (Galgani, 2015;Sebille et al, 2015;UNEP/MAP, 2016), after covering long and complex pathways (Maximenko et al, 2012;Ryan, 2015). Once deposited into the oceans, plastics are gradually fragmented into smaller particles (< 5 mm), due to the synergistic effect of environmental variables and the inherent material instability, and this forms floating marine debris (Thompson et al, 2004;Pastorelli et al, 2014). Floating litter items are found in oceans around the world, such as in the Pacific ocean (Martinez et al, 2009;Law et al, 2014), the southeast Atlantic gyre (Ryan, 2014), the North Atlantic sub-tropical gyre (Reisser et al, 2015), and the Mediterranean Sea (Suaria and Aliani, 2014;Cózar et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the Fate and Distribution of Floating Litter Particles in the Aegean Sea (E. Mediterranean)

et al. 2017

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A circulation model is coupled to a Lagrangian particle-tracking model to simulate the transport floating litter particles in the Aegean Sea, Greece (Eastern Mediterranean). Considering different source regions and release dates, simulations were carried out to explore the fate and distribution of floating litter over 1990-2009, taking into account the seasonal and interannual variability of surface circulation. Model results depicted recurrently high concentrations of floating litter particles in the North Aegean plateau, the Saronikos Gulf, and along Evia and Crete islands. Modeled transport pathways of floating litter demonstrated that source regions are interconnected, with Saronikos Gulf being a main receptor of litter from other sources. Notably higher percent of litter exit (∼35%) than enter the model domain (∼7%) signified that Aegean Sea seems to act as a source rather than receptor of floating litter pollution in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Beached litter was found around 10%, mostly located in the western part of the Aegean Sea. This is the first modeling study to explore the transport of floating marine litter in Greek waters.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the Fate and Distribution of Floating Litter Particles in the Aegean Sea (E. Mediterranean)

et al. 2017

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“…This color change restrains the use of such polymer materials in applications where clarity is requested (e.g., food packaging materials) . In addition, changes in appearance may also affect the aesthetic value of objects, as well as their mechanical stability . In this study, discoloration was evaluated through determination of the YI by ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectrophotometry.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A degradation study of polyamide 11/vermiculite nanocomposites under accelerated UV test

Kaci

Dehouche

Merwe

2019

Polymer Engineering & Sci

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Accelerated photooxidation under ultraviolet (UV) test of polyamide 11 (PA11) films filled with unmodified vermiculite clay at 5 wt% was investigated up to 600 h. Film samples of ~60‐μm thick were prepared by melt compounding using a cast extruder and exposed to UV light irradiation at λ > 295 nm. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra indicated similar structural changes occurring in both PA11 and PA11/unmodified vermiculite nanoclay (UVMC) nanocomposite along the photooxidation process, resulting in imides and carboxylic acids as the main carbonyl products. It was however observed that the formation rate of carbonyls in the PA11/UVMC nanocomposite was slower than neat PA11. This behavior is consistent with the yellowing index evolution determined by ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy. Further, the photooxidation stability of the samples was also evaluated by the onset oxidation temperature determined by differential scanning calorimetry. The results indicated a better stability of the nanocomposite film than neat PA11, corroborating well the data obtained by FTIR and UV–vis techniques. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:2449–2457, 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers

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“…degradation products of plastic polymers) and other chemicals (Galloway, 2015;GESAMP, 2015) . Environmental forces like ultraviolet light and heat degradation from the sun, hydraulic degradation from ocean currents, waves and tides, and biodegradation all cause plastics to become unstable and fragment (Pastorelli et al ., 2014) .…”

Section: In a Nutshellmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of plastic footprint methodologies: laying the foundation for the development of a standardised plastic footprint measurement tool

Boucher¹,

Dubois²,

Kounina³

et al. 2019

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Laying the foundation for the development of a standardised plastic footprint measurement tool v Foreword Our planet is drowning in plastic. Since 1950, an estimated 8,300 million tonnes of plastic were produced, and up to 12 million tonnes-the equivalent of more than one dump truck per minuteare discarded into our oceans annually. This reflects an imminent global plastic pollution crisis that will require a fundamental paradigm shift in the way we produce, use, and manage plastic. There is currently no common agreed-upon methodology to measure the extent of the plastic pollution crisis. This undermines effective and informed decision-making to successfully tackle the issue. Recognising the needs identified in the UNEA-3 resolution, this review of plastic footprint methodologies lays the foundation for the development of a standardised plastic footprint measurement tool. It also provides, for the first time, an extensive overview of all the existing plastic footprint methodologies-there are currently 19 such methodologies-along with a glossary of key terms related to plastics. Plastic is versatile, malleable, light weight and cheap. This makes it a tremendously useful material for a wide variety of applications, from plastic bags given at convenience stores and supermarkets, to high-end, space-grade equipment. That being said, plastic's durability-the culprit of its attractive yet problematic attributes-has made it an aggressive pollutant. It is systematically contaminating every corner of our ecosphere and at an alarming pace, infecting the air we breathe, the soil we live on, and the fish we eat. A stark symbol of our economic era, the plastic management crisis has now inspired a powerful momentum in global efforts to stem the tide of this out-of-control pollution problem. It is also fueling an ongoing debate on how best to solve the problem before its magnitude surpasses us. This publication is part of IUCN's Close the Plastic Tap Programme and provides a review of existing methodologies to identify the abundance and distribution, types and sources, as well as pathways and sinks of plastic pollution at different scales. According to this report, what is currently lacking is a standardised methodology to appropriately assess how much plastic is leaking into oceans and to measure how harmful this leakage is for ecosystems and human health. The report finds that most existing methodologies focus on assessment of plastic usage, waste or recycling rates. While many methodologies are being developed, there is currently no methodology for assessing impacts in a comprehensive manner that allows measurement of trade-offs between different impact categories-for example related to climate and ecosystem damage. The report also underlines the critical need to adopt a holistic, all-encompassing approach to measuring the impact of plastic pollution, one that assesses the entire value chain of plastic products and their entire life cycle. This report's conclusions lay a solid foundation for the development of a standardised a...

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Environmentally induced colour change during natural degradation of selected polymers

Cited by 61 publications

References 30 publications

Modeling the Fate and Distribution of Floating Litter Particles in the Aegean Sea (E. Mediterranean)

Modeling the Fate and Distribution of Floating Litter Particles in the Aegean Sea (E. Mediterranean)

A degradation study of polyamide 11/vermiculite nanocomposites under accelerated UV test

Review of plastic footprint methodologies: laying the foundation for the development of a standardised plastic footprint measurement tool

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