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Abstract
In this paper, we present two novel experimental setups specifically designed to perform in situ long-term monitoring of the aging behaviour of commercial plastic granules (HDPE, PP, PLA and PBAT). The results of the first six months of a three year monitoring campaign are presented. The two experimental setups consist of: (i) special cages positioned close to the sea floor at a depth of about 10 m, and (ii) a box containing sand exposed to atmospheric agents to simulate the surface of a beach. Starting from March 2020, plastic granules were put into the cages and plunged in seawater and in a sandboxe. Chemical spectroscopic and thermal analyses (GPC, SEM, FTIR-ATR, DSC, TGA) were performed on the granules before and after exposure to natural elements for six months, in order to identify the physical-chemical modifications occurring in marine environmental conditions (both in seawater and in sandy coastal conditions). Changes in colour, surface morphology, chemical composition, thermal properties, molecular weight and polydispersity, showed the different influences of the environmental conditions. Photooxidative reaction pathways were prevalent in the sandbox. Abrasive phenomena acted specially in the sea environment. PLA and PBAT did not show significant degradation after six months, making the possible reduction of marine pollution due to this process negligible.
Highlights
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) defines “marine litter” as “any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of, or abandoned in the marine and coastal environment”, including items made of metals, wood, glass, polymeric materials and some other materials [1]
Many studies confirm that plastic is the main component of marine litter [2–4]
The idea was to follow modification due to aging and eventual degradation occurring to the granules in a marine environment in the first six months after positioning, the period during which a biodegradable material should be able to biodegrade
Summary
Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici, Sede di Pisa, del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, (IPCF-CNR), Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, Italy. Chemical spectroscopic and thermal analyses (GPC, SEM, FTIR-ATR, DSC, TGA) were performed on the granules before and after exposure to natural elements for six months, in order to identify the physical-chemical modifications occurring in marine environmental conditions (both in seawater and in sandy coastal conditions). Many studies confirm that plastic is the main component of marine litter [2–4] This quantity can be roughly estimated only and existing reports lead to different results [5]. In 2020, Napper and Thompson established that more than 75% of “marine litters” are plastics [6] Polymers by their nature do not chemically degrade significantly in the marine environment and, transported by currents, end up accumulating and being deposited on beaches, in the sea (surface, seabed and water column) and even in Arctic Sea ice, published maps and institutional affiliations
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