High Density Polyethylene Terephthalate Research Articles

Stability study of homoeopathically potentised Arsenicum album in hydrolytic amber glass class II and high-density polyethylene terephthalate over twelve months

Stability study of homoeopathically potentised Arsenicum album in hydrolytic amber glass class II and high-density polyethylene terephthalate over twelve months

Microplastics alter feeding selectivity and faecal density in the copepod, Calanus helgolandicus

Microplastics (1 μm–5 mm) are a ubiquitous marine contaminant of global concern, ingested by a wide range of marine taxa. Copepods are a key component of marine food webs, providing a source of food for higher trophic levels, and playing an important role in marine nutrient cycling. Microplastic ingestion has been documented in copepods, but knowledge gaps remain over how this affects feeding preference and faecal density. Here, we use exposure studies incorporating algal prey and microplastics of varying sizes and shapes at a concentration of 100 microplastics mL−1 to show: (1) prey selection by the copepod Calanus helgolandicus was affected by the size and shape of microplastics and algae they were exposed to; Exposure to nylon fibres resulted in a 6% decrease in ingestion of similar shaped chain-forming algae, whilst exposure to nylon fragments led to an 8% decrease in ingestion of a unicellular algae that were similar in shape and size. (2) Ingestion of microplastics with different densities altered the sinking rates of faecal pellets. Faeces containing low-density polyethylene sank significantly more slowly than controls, whilst sinking rates increased when faeces contained high-density polyethylene terephthalate. These results suggest that C. helgolandicus avoid ingesting algae that are similar in size and/or shape to the microplastic particles they are exposed to, potentially in a bid to avoid consuming the plastic.

Polyethylene Low and High Density-Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polypropylene Blend as Matrices for Wood Flour

Polyethylene Low and High Density-Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polypropylene Blend as Matrices for Wood Flour

FTIR spectroscopy supported by statistical techniques for the structural characterization of plastic debris in the marine environment: Application to monitoring studies

We inserted 190 FTIR spectra of plastic samples in a digital database and submitted it to Independent Component Analysis (ICA) to extract the “pure” plastic polymers present. These identified plastics were polypropylene (PP), high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), high density polyethylene terephthalate (HDPET), low density polyethylene terephthalate (LDPET), polystyrene (PS), Nylon (NL), polyethylene oxide (OPE), and Teflon (TEF) and they were used to establish the similarity with unknown plastics using the correlation coefficient (r), and the crosscorrelation function (CC). For samples with r<0.8 we determined the Mahalanobis Distance (MD) as additional tool of identification. For instance, for the four plastic fragments found in the Carretta carretta, one plastic sample was assigned to OPE due to its r=0.87; for all the other three plastic samples, due to the r values ranging between 0.83 and0.70, the support of MD suggested LDPET and OPE as co-polymer constituents.

Innovative self-sterilizing transparent Fe–phosphate polyethylene films under visible light

An account of stable, uniform and adhesive high-density polyethylene terephthalate Fe–phosphate (FeOx–POx–HDPET) sputtered thin films showing absorption in the visible region up to 700 nm compared to POx presenting absorption below 300 nm.