Micro- and nanoplastics released from biodegradable and conventional plastics during degradation: Formation, aging factors, and toxicity

Tong, Huiyan; Zhong, Xiaocong; Duan, Zhenghang; Yi, Xiaoyan; Cheng, Fanqi; Xu, Weiping; Yang, Xiaojing

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155275

Cited by 86 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Recent studies have shown that solar UV radiation has degraded between and 22% of all fl oating plastics released into the ocean [39]. Degradation studies of BPs fi lms have shown that plastic-based agricultural plastic fi lms were sensitive to UV radiation and form large amounts of MPs and NPs in the short term [21,25,40].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have shown that the properties and composition of polymers are decisive factors in determining the biodegradation rate of BPs, and even in the same laboratory environment, the structural diff erences of diff erent polymers can lead to diff erent degradation behaviors [23].When the BPs released into the environment, will fi rst break down from long chains to short chains under abiotic eff ects such as UV radiation, hydrolysis, and oxidative/ enzymatic degradation, then lose their mechanical integrity through biological eff ects [24]. UV has been proved to be very important as the fi rst checkpoint of BPs degradation [25,26]. However, there is little research on BPs with size to reach the level of microplastics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Degradation of Biodegradable Microplastics under Artificially Controlled Aging Conditions with UV Radiation

Zhang¹,

Yang²,

Huang³

et al. 2023

J Biomed Res Environ Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Due to the extensive use and improper recycling of traditional plastics, more and more policies have been issued to manage and restrict the use of traditional plastics. Therefore, Biodegradable Plastics (BPs), a substitute of traditional plastics, are widely used in daily life. However, it cannot reach the expected degradation effect in the natural environment, BPs may produce micro-plastics faster than traditional plastics called Biodegradable Microplastics (BMPs). In order to explore the degradation of BMPs, we designed a degradation experiment of BMPs under Ultraviolet (UV) radiation for 64 days. The results showed that the surface of BMPs gradually became rough with the aging time. And the both slight increase of O/C ratio and CI (carbonyl index) value of them indicated that they were oxidized under UV radiation. In addition, the crystal behaviors and the thermal stability of BMPs showed no obvious changes before and after aging. Our findings demonstrated that BMPs were less sensitive to UV radiation as compared with those of conventional plastics, giving evidence that it is necessary to increase regulation and constraints on their upstream production and subsequent disposal to achieve their environmental friendly purpose.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degradation of Biodegradable Microplastics under Artificially Controlled Aging Conditions with UV Radiation

Zhang¹,

Yang²,

Huang³

et al. 2023

J Biomed Res Environ Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…They are even rarely detected in the open environment. As far as we know, the limited data show that PLA and PCL MPs were detected in sediments close to the wastewater outlet [81] , seawater [82] , and leachate [83] . On the one hand, it is related to the low consumption of BP products.…”

Section: Generation and Degradationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Biodegradable plastics in the marine environment: a potential source of risk?

Chen¹

2022

Water Emerg Contam Nanoplastics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The marine environment is facing the threat of increasing plastic pollution, especially from disposable plastics. Presently, governments worldwide are promoting policies to restrict or prohibit conventional plastics. As one hopeful alternative to conventional disposable/non-durable plastics, biodegradable plastics have attracted much attention and controversy in terms of their definition, environmental impact, and environmental significance, as they may be widely used. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the facts about biodegradable plastics, understand the current knowledge gaps, and identify promising fields of relevant research. This review briefly introduces some common biodegradable plastics, their mechanisms of biodegradation, indicators for the biodegradation process, and factors concerning biodegradability and summarizes studies on the biodegradation of biodegradable plastics in the marine environment. The lifespan of biodegradable plastics varies greatly due to their compositions/properties as well as significant differences in the marine environment. Then, the potential risks of biodegradable plastics, including the release of pollutants (micro/nanoplastics, degradation products, and additives), adsorption-desorption of pollutants (pesticide, etc.), and their impact on biomes and biogeochemical cycles are discussed, fully revealing their possible impacts on the marine environment. It is believed that, in addition to the waste of resources, a high abundance of microplastics, toxic leachates, and complex effects on habitats and the environment may also cause problems for the marine environment as a result of the widespread and inappropriate use of biodegradable plastics. Based on the discussion, some constructive suggestions on how to use biodegradable plastics reasonably and prudently in the future are put forward.

show abstract

“…plant material) and biodegradable plastics that are made from materials which can be subject to enzymatic degradation of the polymeric matrix [20]. Thus, whilst conventional wisdom would say that bioplastics are designed to degrade faster than conventional plastics, there is specificity to the conditions of degradation, such as the right medium (water, soil, compost), and the absence of such conditions may result in a longer than expected residence time in the environment [80]. Though generally considered 'green' the bioplastic polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) still contained a wide variety of exogenous chemicals and showed slight toxicity to sea urchin larvae [81].…”

Section: Expanding the Microplastics Universementioning

confidence: 99%

The ecotoxicological consequences of microplastics and co-contaminants in aquatic organisms: a mini-review

Khan

Catarino

Clark

2022

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Microplastics (MPs, <5 mm in size) are a grave environmental concern. They are a ubiquitous persistent pollutant group that has reached into all parts of the environment — from the highest mountain tops to the depths of the ocean. During their production, plastics have added to them numerous chemicals in the form of plasticizers, colorants, fillers and stabilizers, some of which have known toxicity to biota. When released into the environments, MPs are also likely to encounter chemical contaminants, including hydrophobic organic contaminants, trace metals and pharmaceuticals, which can sorb to plastic surfaces. Additionally, MPs have been shown to be ingested by a wide range of organisms and it is this combination of ingestion and chemical association that gives weight to the notion that MPs may impact the bioavailability and toxicity of both endogenous and exogenous co-contaminants. In this mini-review, we set the recent literature within what has been previously published about MPs as chemical carriers to biota, with particular focus on aquatic invertebrates and fish. We then present a critical viewpoint on the validity of laboratory-to-field extrapolations in this area. Lastly, we highlight the expanding ‘microplastic universe’ with the addition of anthropogenic particles that have gained recent attention, namely, tire wear particles, nanoplastics and, bio-based or biodegradable MPs, and highlight the need for future research in their potential roles as vehicles of co-contaminant transfer.

show abstract

Micro- and nanoplastics released from biodegradable and conventional plastics during degradation: Formation, aging factors, and toxicity

Cited by 86 publications

References 31 publications

Degradation of Biodegradable Microplastics under Artificially Controlled Aging Conditions with UV Radiation

Degradation of Biodegradable Microplastics under Artificially Controlled Aging Conditions with UV Radiation

Biodegradable plastics in the marine environment: a potential source of risk?

The ecotoxicological consequences of microplastics and co-contaminants in aquatic organisms: a mini-review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About