Modelling the Photodegradation of Marine Microplastics by Means of Infrared Spectrometry and Chemometric Techniques

Sorasan, Carmen; Ortega-Ojeda, Fernando; Rodríguez, Antonio; Rosal, Roberto

doi:10.3390/microplastics1010013

Cited by 18 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Another study [ 22 ] simulated a marine water environment to expose polyethylene pellets in the dark and observe morphological and structural changes in the polymer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to Assess the Degree of Alteration of Artificially Aged and Environmentally Weathered Microplastics

et al. 2023

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Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) is a spectroscopy technique widely used to identify organic materials. It has recently gained popularity in microplastic (MP) pollution research to determine the chemical composition of unknown plastic fragments. However, it could also be used to evaluate the degree of ageing of MPs collected from the environment. In this context, the principal aim of our research has been to qualitatively evaluate the natural weathering of environmental MPs collected in an Italian freshwater body (the Ofanto River) using ATR-FTIR technology. Furthermore, we compared environmental particles to weathered artificial MPs under controlled light and temperature conditions and to unaltered pristine materials to assess the results. FTIR spectra were acquired using a Nicolet Summit FTIR (ThermoFisher Scientific) equipped with an Everest ATR with a diamond Crystal plate and a DTGS KBr detector (wavenumber range 4000–500 cm−1, 32 scans per spectrum, spectral resolution of 4 cm−1). The degree of ageing was assessed using three different indexes known to be related to changes in MPs: Carbonyl Index (CI), Hydroxyl Index (HI), and Carbon-Oxygen Index (COI). The overall results showed that the regions reflecting changes (hydroxyl groups, peaks from 3100 to 3700 cm−1, alkenes or carbon double bonds, 1600 and 1680 cm−1, and carbonyl groups, 1690 and 1810 cm−1) appeared significantly modified in artificial and natural weathered particles compared to the pristine materials. The indexes calculated for polymers degraded under the artificial photo and thermo ageing conditions displayed a general tendency to increase with the time in contact with irradiation time. Particular enhancements of CI of PS fragment and PE pellet, HI of PE and PS fragments and PE pellet, and COI of PS fragment were observed. Otherwise, the following incubation of the same particles at a constant temperature of 45 °C did not further affect the chemical composition of the particles. Moreover, new unique peaks were also observed in the freshwater particles, almost all in the fingerprint region (1500–500 cm−1). Differences in CI, HI, and COI were evidenced among the different morphological MP shapes. On the one hand, the CI calculated for the environmental PE pellets showed values ranging from 0.05 to 0.26 with a mean value of 0.17 ± 0.10. Most samples (57%) presented a CI with values between 0.16 and 0.30. On the other hand, fragments presented slicer modifications in the carbonyl region with CI values lower than pellets (0.05 ± 0.05). This index helps evaluate the degradation of PE MPs by UV light, increasing with enhancing residence time in the environment. Conversely, fragments showed greater values of HI (5.90 ± 2.57) and COI (1.04 ± 0.48) than pellets, as well as lines, which presented the maximum value of HI (11.51). HI is attributed to the bond vibrations of hydroxyl, carboxyl, or phenol groups. In contrast, COI is frequently attributed to the vibrations of C_O bonds found in carbohydrates, alkanes, secondary alcohols, and ketones. In conclusion, our results showed characteristics spectra acquired from environmental particles compared to pristine and artificial aged ones. The interpretation of our main results emphasizes the need to conduct ecotoxicological experimental studies using naturally weathered particles due to the unicity of their properties, which are more helpful for understanding microplastic pollution effects.

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“…Another study [ 22 ] simulated a marine water environment to expose polyethylene pellets in the dark and observe morphological and structural changes in the polymer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to Assess the Degree of Alteration of Artificially Aged and Environmentally Weathered Microplastics

et al. 2023

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“…1 ). MPs sampled from beach and surface water environments show spectroscopic signatures of photo-oxidation, primarily the presence of surface carbonyl groups [ 28 , 29 ], as well as increased fractional crystallinity [ 30 ]. While UV irradiation drives photo-oxidation, and therefore contributes to the fragmentation of plastic debris into progressively smaller sizes, it may also help remove plastic particles from the environment through photo-mineralisation [ 21 , 27 , 31 ].…”

Section: Photo-oxidation and Plastic Persistencementioning

confidence: 99%

The Montreal Protocol and the fate of environmental plastic debris

Jansen

Barnes

Bornman

et al. 2023

Photochem Photobiol Sci

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Microplastics (MPs) are an emerging class of pollutants in air, soil and especially in all aquatic environments. Secondary MPs are generated in the environment during fragmentation of especially photo-oxidised plastic litter. Photo-oxidation is mediated primarily by solar UV radiation. The implementation of the Montreal Protocol and its Amendments, which have resulted in controlling the tropospheric UV-B (280–315 nm) radiation load, is therefore pertinent to the fate of environmental plastic debris. Due to the Montreal Protocol high amounts of solar UV-B radiation at the Earth’s surface have been avoided, retarding the oxidative fragmentation of plastic debris, leading to a slower generation and accumulation of MPs in the environment. Quantifying the impact of the Montreal Protocol in reducing the abundance of MPs in the environment, however, is complicated as the role of potential mechanical fragmentation of plastics under environmental mechanical stresses is poorly understood.

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“…El seguimiento de la degradación de los microplásticos ha sido estudiado extensamente (Cai et al 2022;Day & Wiles, 1972;Hebner & Maurer-Jones, 2020;Lee et al, 2022;Sorasan et al, 2022;Yousif & Hadad, 2013;. Si bien es cierto que existen retos importantes en cuanto a la identificación de…”

Section: Seguimiento Y Detección De Los Mpsunclassified

Los microplásticos en el entorno acuático: Un vistazo a la cinética, mecanismo de degradación, impacto ambiental y en la salud humana

Cuadra,

Lezcano,

Bayard

et al. 2023

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Desde su origen en la década de los años 50’s, los plásticos se han convertido en un material omnipresente en la vida diaria de nuestras sociedades. A pesar de su amplia gama de usos, la lenta degradación de estos materiales en el ambiente ha ocasionado un problema de contaminación emergente de consecuencias aún desconocidas. El objetivo de esta revisión es el de evaluar el impacto que ha tenido la introducción de los microplásticos en nuestros ecosistemas. Reportes recientes indican que la presencia de microplásticos se ha extendido hasta ambientes prístinos como los polos del planeta. La degradación de los materiales plásticos, en partículas de menor tamaño llamados microplásticos cuando su diámetro es menor a 5 mm y su ingesta por organismos diversos plantea la pregunta de cuál es el efecto a largo plazo en la salud de los ecosistemas. Efectos adversos en el metabolismo de microorganismos, peces y en el ser humano han sido ampliamente documentados. Igualmente, se ha reportado la capacidad de estas partículas de movilizar contaminantes ambientales como metales pesados, hidrocarburos, e incluso virus. Entre estos efectos adversos se incluyen alteraciones metabólicas, formación de especies reactivas de oxígeno y modificación de procesos inflamatorios. Podemos concluir que la presencia de las partículas de microplásticos están presentes en diversos nichos de los ecosistemas terrestres y que su degradación introduce compuestos químicos potencialmente disruptivos en ellos. Por lo que entender el origen, transformación, rol en el transporte y liberación de contaminantes en el ambiente nos permitirá diseñar estrategias para minimizarlos.

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Modelling the Photodegradation of Marine Microplastics by Means of Infrared Spectrometry and Chemometric Techniques

Cited by 18 publications

References 26 publications

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to Assess the Degree of Alteration of Artificially Aged and Environmentally Weathered Microplastics

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to Assess the Degree of Alteration of Artificially Aged and Environmentally Weathered Microplastics

The Montreal Protocol and the fate of environmental plastic debris

Los microplásticos en el entorno acuático: Un vistazo a la cinética, mecanismo de degradación, impacto ambiental y en la salud humana

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