Sorption of organic compounds by aged polystyrene microplastic particles

Sorption of organic compounds by aged polystyrene microplastic particles

INTERNATIONAL MARINE LITTER DATABASE

Sorption of organic compounds by aged polystyrene microplastic particles

Thorsten Hüffer, Anne-Katrin Weniger, Thilo Hofmann,

Sorption of organic compounds by aged polystyrene microplastic particles,

Environmental Pollution, Volume 236, May 2018, Pages 218-225, ISSN 0269-7491,

Abstract:
Microplastics that are released into the environment undergo aging and
interact with other substances such as organic contaminants.
Understanding the sorption interactions between aged microplastics and
organic contaminants is therefore essential for evaluating the impact of
microplastics on the environment.
There is little information available on how the aging of microplastics affects
their sorption behavior andother properties.
We have therefore investigated the effects of an
accelerated UV-aging procedure on polystyrene microplastics, which are
used in products such as skin cleaners and foams. Physical and chemical
particle characterizations showed that aging led to significant surface
oxidation and minor localized microcrack formation.
Sorption coefficients of organic compounds by polystyrene microplastics following
aging were up to one order of magnitude lower than for pristine
particles. Sorption isotherms were experimentally determined using a
diverse set of probe sorbates covering a variety of substance classes
allowing an in-depth evaluation of the poly-parameter linear free-energy
relationship (ppLFER) modelling used to investigate the contribution of
individual molecular interactions to overall sorption. The ppLFER
modelling was validated using internal cross-validation, which confirmed
its robustness.
This approach therefore yields improved estimates of the interactions between
aged polystyrene microplastics and organic contaminants.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lxQ23XpLlVjn4Tcs1Odvch1jFM2xetr5
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.01.022.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749117349977)