Photodegradation of biobased polymer blends in seawater: A major source of microplastics in the marine environment
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Introduction Biobased polymer blends have been recommended as an eco-friendly solution to abate plastic pollution in the environment. However, the formation of microplastics (MPs) by photodegradation of biobased polymer blends in the marine environment is still not well understood. In this study, we investigated the formation of MPs and the changes in the physicochemical properties of three types of biobased polymer blends after photodegradation in seawater. Methods The investigated materials included non-biodegradable polyethylene/ thermoplastic starch blends (PE/TPS) and polypropylene/thermoplastic starch blends (PP/TPS), as well as biodegradable polylactic acid/poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)/thermoplastic starch blends (PLA/PBAT/TPS). The control groups were the corresponding neat polymers, including polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polylactic acid (PLA). Results The size distribution of the pristine and aged MPs indicated that the polymer blends were more likely to produce small-sized particles after photodegradation due to their poorer mechanical properties and lower resistance to UV irradiation than the neat polymers. Noticeable surface morphology alterations, including cracks, holes, and pits, were observed for polymer blends after photodegradation, while neat polymers were relatively resistant. After photodegradation, the attenuated total reflection Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) spectrum of the polymer blends showed a significant decrease in the characteristic bands of thermoplastic starch (TPS), indicating depletion of their starch fractions. The C1s spectra of the polymer blends demonstrated that the aged MPs contained fewer -OH groups than the pristine MPs, further confirming the photodegradation of TPS. The molecular weight distribution curve of the polymer blends shifted significantly towards low molecular weight, suggesting the occurrence of chain scission during photodegradation. These results indicate that the polymer blends have a higher degree of photodegradation than neat polymers, and thereby generate more small-sized MPs than neat polymers. Photodegradation caused changes in the contact angle and surface charge of MPs derived from biobased polymer blends, which may affect the vector effects of MPs on any coexisting pollutants. Discussion In summary, polymer blends may pose a higher risk to the marine environment than neat polymers, and caution should be taken in promoting biobased polymer blends.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".