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Study on the onset mechanism of bio-blister degradation of polyolefin by diatom attachment in seawater
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Researchers investigated the mechanism by which diatom attachment initiates 'bio-blister degradation' of polyolefin plastics in seawater, finding that pH reduction within surface blisters enables autoxidation even in alkaline conditions that would otherwise inhibit it. The study used polypropylene/polylactic acid blends subjected to photodegradation pretreatment to demonstrate that ClOH dissociation under localized acidic conditions drives the onset of polyolefin breakdown.
It is essential to develop a mechanism for lowering the molecular weight of polyolefins to achieve biodegradation in seawater. In this study, a polypropylene/polylactic acid blend sample was first subjected to photodegradation pretreatment, and it was confirmed that in pure water, the acid generated promotes the polypropylene degradation (autoxidation), while in alkaline seawater, the promotion was inhibited by a neutralization reaction. In the autoxidation of polyolefins in alkaline seawater, aqueous Cl- was also the inhibitor. However, we found that autoxidation could be initiated even in seawater by lowering the pH and using dissociation of ClOH (called blister degradation). The blister degradation mechanism enabled autoxidation, even in seawater, by taking advantage of the ability of diatoms to secrete transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) to prevent direct contact between the surface layer of polyolefins and alkaline seawater. We named blister degradation in seawater with diatoms as bio-blister degradation and confirmed its manifestation using linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE)/starch samples by SEM, IR, DSC and GPC analysis.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.