A combined experimental and modeling study to evaluate pH-dependent sorption of polar and non-polar compounds to polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics

Environmental Sciences Europe
Sven SeidenstickerChristiane Zarfl

Abstract

The contamination of aquatic ecosystems with both anthropogenic pollutants and particles in particular (microscopic) plastic debris items is of emerging concern. Since plastic particles can accumulate contaminants and potentially facilitate their transport, it is important to properly investigate sorption mechanisms. This is especially required for a large variety of chemicals that can be charged under environmental conditions and for which interactions with particles may hence go beyond mere partitioning. In this study, sorption experiments with two types of microplastic particles (polyethylene and polystyrene) and 19 different contaminants (pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products) were performed at three different pH values. We could show that sorption to plastic particles is stronger for hydrophobic compounds and that neutral species usually contribute more to the overall sorption. Bulk partitioning coefficients were in the same order of magnitude for polyethylene and polystyrene. Furthermore, our results confirm that partition coefficients for polar compounds can only be accurately determined if the solid-to-liquid ratio in batch experiments is more than 6-7 orders of magnitude higher than any plastic concen...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jan 22, 2019·Global Change Biology·Fredric M WindsorSteve J Ormerod
Aug 21, 2020·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·Graziella FicocielloAndrea Setini
Nov 1, 2020·Molecules : a Journal of Synthetic Chemistry and Natural Product Chemistry·Julia ReichelJörg E Drewes
Jul 13, 2020·The Science of the Total Environment·F K MammoS Kumari
Dec 15, 2020·The Science of the Total Environment·Fernando G TorresGabriel E De-la-Torre
Mar 5, 2021·Toxicology in Vitro : an International Journal Published in Association with BIBRA·Susana ProençaNynke I Kramer
Mar 7, 2021·Molecules : a Journal of Synthetic Chemistry and Natural Product Chemistry·Julia ReichelThomas Letzel
Feb 2, 2022·The Science of the Total Environment·Huirong YangJun Wang

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