Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Volume -, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c04091
Keywords
pyrolysis; bioplastics; micro-bioplastics; quantification; extraction; Pyr-GC/MS
Categories
Funding
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland
- Queensland Health
- Australian Research Council Discovery Project [DP200101144]
- Minderoo Foundation
- Australian Research Council [DP200101144] Funding Source: Australian Research Council
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The potential impacts and environmental occurrence of biodegradable plastics remains unclear. This study developed an analytical method to accurately identify and quantify micro-bioplastics in environmental samples, filling gaps in our knowledge about bioplastic pollution.
Bioplastics are materials that are biobased and/or biodegradable, but not necessarily both. Concerns about environmental plastic pollution are constantly growing with increasing demand for substituting fossil-based plastics with those made using renewable resource feedstocks. For many conventional bioplastics to completely decompose/degrade, they require specific environmental conditions that are rarely met in natural ecosystems, leading to rapid formation of micro-bioplastics. As global bioplastic production and consumption/use continue to increase, there is growing concern regarding the potential for environmental pollution from micro-bioplastics. However, the actual extent of their environmental occurrence and potential impacts remains unclear, and there is insufficient mass concentration-based quantitative data due to the lack of quantitative analytical methods. This study developed and validated an analytical method coupling pressurized liquid extraction and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with thermochemolysis to simultaneously identify and quantify five targeted micro-bioplastics (i.e., polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoate, polybutylene succinate, polycaprolactone, and polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT)) in environmental samples on a polymer-specific mass-based concentration. The recovery of spiked micro-bioplastics in environmental samples (biosolids) ranged from 74 to 116%. The limits of quantification for the target micro-bioplastics were between 0.02 and 0.05 mg/g. PLA and PBAT were commonly detected in wastewater, biosolids, and sediment samples at concentrations between 0.07 and 0.18 mg/g. The presented analytical method enables the accurate identification, quantification, and monitoring of micro-bioplastics in environmental samples. This study quantified five micro-bioplastic types in complex environmental samples for the first time, filling in gaps in our knowledge about bioplastic pollution and providing a useful methodology and important reference data for future research.
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