Pub Date : 2019-05-13DOI: 10.5772/INTECHOPEN.85124
J. Glaser
Polymers present to modern society remarkable performance characteristics desired by a wide range of consumers but the fate of polymers in the environment has become a massive management problem. Polymer applications offer molecular structures attractive to product engineers desirous of prolonged lifetime properties. These characteristics also figure prominently in the environmental lifetimes of polymers or plastics. Recently, reports of microbial degradation of polymeric materials offer new emerging technological opportunities to modify the enormous pollution threat incurred through use of polymers/plastics. A significant literature exists from which developmental directions for possible biological technologies can be discerned. Each report of microbial mediated degradation of polymers must be characterized in detail to provide the database from which a new technology developed. Part of the development must address the kinetics of the degradation process and find new approaches to enhance the rate of degradation. The understanding of the interaction of biotic and abiotic degradation is implicit to the technology development effort.
{"title":"Biological Degradation of Polymers in the Environment","authors":"J. Glaser","doi":"10.5772/INTECHOPEN.85124","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.85124","url":null,"abstract":"Polymers present to modern society remarkable performance characteristics desired by a wide range of consumers but the fate of polymers in the environment has become a massive management problem. Polymer applications offer molecular structures attractive to product engineers desirous of prolonged lifetime properties. These characteristics also figure prominently in the environmental lifetimes of polymers or plastics. Recently, reports of microbial degradation of polymeric materials offer new emerging technological opportunities to modify the enormous pollution threat incurred through use of polymers/plastics. A significant literature exists from which developmental directions for possible biological technologies can be discerned. Each report of microbial mediated degradation of polymers must be characterized in detail to provide the database from which a new technology developed. Part of the development must address the kinetics of the degradation process and find new approaches to enhance the rate of degradation. The understanding of the interaction of biotic and abiotic degradation is implicit to the technology development effort.","PeriodicalId":118214,"journal":{"name":"Plastics in the Environment","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126145022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-01-21DOI: 10.5772/INTECHOPEN.81485
D. Berto, F. Rampazzo, C. Gion, Seta Noventa, Malgorzata M. Formalewicz, F. Ronchi, Umberto Traldi, G. Giorgi
In the last 60 years, plastic has become a widely used material due to its versatil-ity and wide range of applications. This characteristic, together with its persistence, makes plastic waste a growing environmental problem, particularly in the marine ecosystems. The production of plant-derived biodegradable plastic polymers is assum-ing increasing importance. Here, we report the results of a first preliminary characterization of carbon stable isotopes ( δ 13 C) of different plastic polymers (petroleum- and plant-derived) and a first experimental study aimed to determine carbon isotopic shift due to polymer degradation in an aquatic environment. The results showed that the δ 13 C values determined in different packaging for food uses reflect the plant origin for “BIO” materials and the petroleum-derived source for plastic materials. Considering degradation, δ 13 C values of both bio bags and HDPE bags showed a gradual decrease toward less negative values when kept immersed in seawater, recording a δ 13 C variation ( Δδ 13 C) of 1.15 and 1.78‰, respectively. With respect to other analytical methods, the characterization of the plastic polymer composition by isotope ratio mass spectrometry is advantageous due to low cost and rapidity of analysis, small amount of sample required, high sensitivity, and the possibility of analyzing colored samples.
{"title":"Elemental Analyzer/Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (EA/IRMS) as a Tool to Characterize Plastic Polymers in a Marine Environment","authors":"D. Berto, F. Rampazzo, C. Gion, Seta Noventa, Malgorzata M. Formalewicz, F. Ronchi, Umberto Traldi, G. Giorgi","doi":"10.5772/INTECHOPEN.81485","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.81485","url":null,"abstract":"In the last 60 years, plastic has become a widely used material due to its versatil-ity and wide range of applications. This characteristic, together with its persistence, makes plastic waste a growing environmental problem, particularly in the marine ecosystems. The production of plant-derived biodegradable plastic polymers is assum-ing increasing importance. Here, we report the results of a first preliminary characterization of carbon stable isotopes ( δ 13 C) of different plastic polymers (petroleum- and plant-derived) and a first experimental study aimed to determine carbon isotopic shift due to polymer degradation in an aquatic environment. The results showed that the δ 13 C values determined in different packaging for food uses reflect the plant origin for “BIO” materials and the petroleum-derived source for plastic materials. Considering degradation, δ 13 C values of both bio bags and HDPE bags showed a gradual decrease toward less negative values when kept immersed in seawater, recording a δ 13 C variation ( Δδ 13 C) of 1.15 and 1.78‰, respectively. With respect to other analytical methods, the characterization of the plastic polymer composition by isotope ratio mass spectrometry is advantageous due to low cost and rapidity of analysis, small amount of sample required, high sensitivity, and the possibility of analyzing colored samples.","PeriodicalId":118214,"journal":{"name":"Plastics in the Environment","volume":"56 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127555815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-11-05DOI: 10.5772/INTECHOPEN.81147
Denis R. Dias, M. J. O. Guimarães, C. Nascimento, C. A. Costa, Giovanio L. de Oliveira, M. C. Andrade, A. M. F. Sousa, A. L. N. Silva, Elen B. A. V. Pacheco
Polypropylene (PP) is widely used in short-term use artifacts, rapidly discarded and should partially replace neat PP. In addition, it is one of the polymers most used in the automobile industry. This study shows the technical feasibility of partially substituting neat PP for a post-consumer counterpart (PP r ), as well as adding ground glass (GP), used as filler in the polymer matrix. Mechanical and thermal properties of the recycled blends (PP/PP r ) and composites (PP/PP r /GP) were evaluated. The results demonstrated that the blend with the highest PP r content obtained a statisti-cally significant decline in elastic modulus, but adding 5 wt% of GP to this blend increased this property, achieving a similar value in relation to neat PP. The composite developed may be a promising tailor-made product with properties resembling those of the virgin plastic. Thus, the automotive industry seems to be a good option for the use of PP r and GP composites and blends, without increasing product requirements.
聚丙烯(PP)广泛用于短期使用的人工制品，迅速废弃，应部分取代整齐PP。此外，它是汽车工业中使用最多的聚合物之一。这项研究表明，部分取代纯PP的消费后对应物(PP r)的技术可行性，以及添加磨砂玻璃(GP)，作为填料在聚合物基体中。对再生共混物(PP/PP r)和复合材料(PP/PP r /GP)的力学性能和热性能进行了评价。结果表明，PP r含量最高的共混物的弹性模量有统计学上显著的下降，但在共混物中添加5 wt%的GP提高了弹性模量，达到与纯PP相似的值。所开发的复合材料可能是一种有前途的定制产品，具有与原始塑料相似的性能。因此，在不增加产品要求的情况下，汽车行业似乎是使用PP r和GP复合材料和混合物的好选择。
{"title":"Study of the Technical Feasibility of the Use of Polypropylene Residue in Composites for Automotive Industry","authors":"Denis R. Dias, M. J. O. Guimarães, C. Nascimento, C. A. Costa, Giovanio L. de Oliveira, M. C. Andrade, A. M. F. Sousa, A. L. N. Silva, Elen B. A. V. Pacheco","doi":"10.5772/INTECHOPEN.81147","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.81147","url":null,"abstract":"Polypropylene (PP) is widely used in short-term use artifacts, rapidly discarded and should partially replace neat PP. In addition, it is one of the polymers most used in the automobile industry. This study shows the technical feasibility of partially substituting neat PP for a post-consumer counterpart (PP r ), as well as adding ground glass (GP), used as filler in the polymer matrix. Mechanical and thermal properties of the recycled blends (PP/PP r ) and composites (PP/PP r /GP) were evaluated. The results demonstrated that the blend with the highest PP r content obtained a statisti-cally significant decline in elastic modulus, but adding 5 wt% of GP to this blend increased this property, achieving a similar value in relation to neat PP. The composite developed may be a promising tailor-made product with properties resembling those of the virgin plastic. Thus, the automotive industry seems to be a good option for the use of PP r and GP composites and blends, without increasing product requirements.","PeriodicalId":118214,"journal":{"name":"Plastics in the Environment","volume":"55 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122849925","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-11-05DOI: 10.5772/INTECHOPEN.81180
Katrin Schuhen, M. Sturm, Adrian Frank Herbort
An increasingly serious and widespread problem is the introduction of plastics into the water cycle. The poor degradability leads to the plastic waste remaining in water for a long time and over time it fragments into smaller and smaller plastic particles. Both the visible plastic parts and in particular their decomposition products and functionalized plastic particles are an enormous burden. Seawater desalination and sea salt extraction are highly dependent on the quality of the seawater in terms of process utilization and cost structures, i.e., on the level of pollution. Especially microparticles represent a significant potential for blocking the microfiltration membranes (pore size > 100 nm) in the pretreatment and the very costly reverse osmosis (RO) membranes (pore size > 5 nm). An innovative approach for the removal of microplastics from industrially used seawater combines a chemically induced agglomeration and a new technological implementation step. The particular challenge in removing the synthetic impurities is not only their small size but also their inert properties against most of the physical and chemical additives for flocculation. With an easy implementation to existing systems, an economic aspect and a strong impact on the maritime ecological balance will be expected.
{"title":"Technological Approaches for the Reduction of Microplastic Pollution in Seawater Desalination Plants and for Sea Salt Extraction","authors":"Katrin Schuhen, M. Sturm, Adrian Frank Herbort","doi":"10.5772/INTECHOPEN.81180","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.81180","url":null,"abstract":"An increasingly serious and widespread problem is the introduction of plastics into the water cycle. The poor degradability leads to the plastic waste remaining in water for a long time and over time it fragments into smaller and smaller plastic particles. Both the visible plastic parts and in particular their decomposition products and functionalized plastic particles are an enormous burden. Seawater desalination and sea salt extraction are highly dependent on the quality of the seawater in terms of process utilization and cost structures, i.e., on the level of pollution. Especially microparticles represent a significant potential for blocking the microfiltration membranes (pore size > 100 nm) in the pretreatment and the very costly reverse osmosis (RO) membranes (pore size > 5 nm). An innovative approach for the removal of microplastics from industrially used seawater combines a chemically induced agglomeration and a new technological implementation step. The particular challenge in removing the synthetic impurities is not only their small size but also their inert properties against most of the physical and chemical additives for flocculation. With an easy implementation to existing systems, an economic aspect and a strong impact on the maritime ecological balance will be expected.","PeriodicalId":118214,"journal":{"name":"Plastics in the Environment","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130799856","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-11-05DOI: 10.5772/INTECHOPEN.81534
A. Gomiero, P. Strafella, G. Fabi
Marine litter is human-created waste that has been discharged into the coastal or marine environment. “Marine debris” is defined as anthropogenic, manufactured, or processed solid material discarded, disposed of, or abandoned in the environment, including all materials discarded into the sea, on the shore, or brought indi-rectly to the sea by rivers, sewage, storm water, waves, or winds. A large fraction of marine debris is made up of plastic items. Plastic marine debris has become one of the most prevalent pollution related problems affecting the marine environment globally. The widespread challenge of managing marine litter is a useful illustration of the global and transboundary nature of many marine environmental problems. At a global level, plastic litter constitutes 83–87% of all marine litter. Land-based sources are estimated to be responsible for approximately 80% of marine litter. The largest portion of plastic associated with marine pollution is often linked to the contribution from terrestrial sources associated with accidental or deliberate spills as well as inefficient waste management systems in heavily anthropized coastal regions. This chapter is intended to serve as a catalyst for further discussion to explore the potential for developing a Mediterranean regional framework for addressing marine litter.
{"title":"From Macroplastic to Microplastic Litter: Occurrence, Composition, Source Identification and Interaction with Aquatic Organisms. Experiences from the Adriatic Sea","authors":"A. Gomiero, P. Strafella, G. Fabi","doi":"10.5772/INTECHOPEN.81534","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.81534","url":null,"abstract":"Marine litter is human-created waste that has been discharged into the coastal or marine environment. “Marine debris” is defined as anthropogenic, manufactured, or processed solid material discarded, disposed of, or abandoned in the environment, including all materials discarded into the sea, on the shore, or brought indi-rectly to the sea by rivers, sewage, storm water, waves, or winds. A large fraction of marine debris is made up of plastic items. Plastic marine debris has become one of the most prevalent pollution related problems affecting the marine environment globally. The widespread challenge of managing marine litter is a useful illustration of the global and transboundary nature of many marine environmental problems. At a global level, plastic litter constitutes 83–87% of all marine litter. Land-based sources are estimated to be responsible for approximately 80% of marine litter. The largest portion of plastic associated with marine pollution is often linked to the contribution from terrestrial sources associated with accidental or deliberate spills as well as inefficient waste management systems in heavily anthropized coastal regions. This chapter is intended to serve as a catalyst for further discussion to explore the potential for developing a Mediterranean regional framework for addressing marine litter.","PeriodicalId":118214,"journal":{"name":"Plastics in the Environment","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133208812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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