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Predictive modelling to assess the accumulation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable microplastics in the natural environment.
Summary
Researchers developed predictive models to assess the accumulation of both biodegradable and non-biodegradable microplastics in natural environments, addressing the lack of a comprehensive methodology for quantifying MP buildup and enabling comparisons of environmental impact across polymer types.
The use of plastics inevitably leads to (micro-)plastics entering and accumulating in the natural environment. Currently, a comprehensive and universally applicable methodology to quantify microplastic accumulation in the natural environment is lacking, which undermines the impact biodegradable polymers can have. In this presentation we will present our work on predictive modelling that provides the possibility to examine and compare the microplastic formation and accumulation of different polymer types in diverse natural environments following the approach of Brouwer et al 2024 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177503). The proposed model derives carbon mass flow streams from experimental mineralization curves (CO2 evolution) of polymers and predicts the concentrations and residence times of the different plastic states during their biodegradation processes. Several case studies will be presented demonstrating its use to guide material selection in product design by quantifying the microplastic accumulation of different polymer types.