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Ricci, Lucia
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- PublicationOpen AccessAn In Situ Experiment to Evaluate the Aging and Degradation Phenomena Induced by Marine Environment Conditions on Commercial Plastic Granules(2022-03-10)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; 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 sea water in two different locations in the sand boxes. 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 and molecular weight, and the polydispersity of the materials, 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 negligible82 50 - PublicationOpen AccessResin pellets aging and degradation investigation from long term in situ experiment: first results(2022-09-25)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; Experimental studies in recent years highlight the presence of an increasingly high quantity of microplastics worldwide [1]. The "resin pellets" represent a significant share among the first generation microplastics in the millimeter range (from 1 to 5 mm). They disperse in the environment, even unintentionally, during transport, storage and processing and recent studies show that their content varies from 3% to about 30% of all microplastics surveyed on beaches [2]. A three-years experiment was carried out on a simulated beach and in marine water in Santa Teresa Bay (Gulf of La Spezia, Italy). In detail, special cages have been installed on the underwater observatory, LabMARE coastal station [3], placed at ten meters deep. The submarine station is equipped with a sensor for monitoring environmental parameters, recording data every 10 min. The experiment, aimed at investigating the behavior of plastic items and HDPE, PP, PLA and PBAT pellets, began on March 3, 2020 and is still ongoing. Here, the comparison between the properties of the raw pellets and those placed in the two different environments after six months, is discussed. Through chemical, spectroscopic and thermal analyses (GPC, SEM, FTIR-ATR, DSC, TGA) of granules, variations in color, surface morphology, chemical composition, thermal properties and molecular weight, and polydispersity of materials are analysed to show the different influences of environmental conditions.67 29