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Comprehensive Understanding on the Aging Process and Mechanism of Microplastics in the Sediment–Water Interface: Untangling the Role of Photoaging and Biodegradation

Environmental Science & Technology 2024 36 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 55 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Xin Su, Xin Su, Xin Su, Xin Su, Xin Su, Xin Su, Meng Liu, Meng Liu, Meng Liu, Meng Liu, Jibo Dou, Jibo Dou, Zhijiang Lu, Jianming Xu Jianming Xu Yao Tang, Yao Tang, Jibo Dou, Yan He, Xin Su, Jianming Xu Zhijiang Lu, Yan He, Jianming Xu Jianming Xu Jianming Xu Zhijiang Lu, Zhijiang Lu, Zhijiang Lu, Zhijiang Lu, Jianming Xu Yan He, Zhijiang Lu, Zhijiang Lu, Jianming Xu Yan He, Jianming Xu Jianming Xu Yan He, Yan He, Yan He, Yan He, Yan He, Zhijiang Lu, Jianming Xu Jianming Xu Jianming Xu

Summary

Researchers examined how microplastics break down at the boundary between water and sediment in coastal wetlands, comparing the roles of sunlight-driven aging and biological degradation. They found that photoaging was the dominant process, accounting for over 55% of surface changes, and that biodegradable plastics aged faster than conventional ones. The study provides important insights into how microplastics transform in real-world coastal environments.

Polymers

PE PET PLA PP

Study Type Environmental

Microplastics (MPs) in coastal wetlands have been of great concern, but information on the aging behavior of MPs in the sediment-water interface is still lacking. In this study, the contribution of a typical abiotic (photoaging) and biotic (biodegradation) process and the underlying aging pathway of MPs with different degradabilities (including polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polylactic acid) were studied. With a quantified relative importance of photoaging (>55%) vs biodegradation, the crucial contribution of photoaging on MP aging was highlighted. This was likely attributed to more generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under sunlight irradiation conditions, containing O2•- and H2O2. By raising higher the level of malondialdehyde (0.5-3.5 times as high as that in the dark condition), these photochemically formed ROS caused oxidative stress and inhibited the selective attachment of plastic-degrading microbes on the MP surface, thereby weakening the effect of biodegradation. On this basis, the aging characteristics and potential pathway of different MPs were revealed. The functional group of nondegradable polypropylene tends to be broken by ROS first, while biodegradation (Arthrobacter oryzae and Bacillus sp.) played a relatively dominant role in biodegradable polylactic acid. This study provides a new sight for the understanding on the aging behaviors of MPs in the sediment-water interface.

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