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Self-motivated photoaging of microplastics by biochar-dissolved organic matter under different pyrolysis temperatures
Summary
Researchers investigated how dissolved organic matter from biochar affects the photoaging of polystyrene microplastics under different conditions. The study found that biochar produced at lower pyrolysis temperatures significantly accelerated microplastic degradation, suggesting that biochar-derived organic matter may play an important role in the environmental weathering and breakdown of plastic particles.
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) released from biochar (BDOM) can interact with microplastics (MPs) in the environment, inevitably affecting their environmental behaviour. Information regarding the influence of BDOM on MPs during photoaging and associated variations in the MP aging mechanism remains unclear. This study evaluated the effect of BDOM on the aging of polystyrene (PS) MPs. The results showed that among three pyrolysis temperatures, low-temperature BDOM significantly enhanced the photoaging process of PS MPs, with the smallest average particle size and highest carbonyl index value after 15 days of aging under light conditions. The DOM level decreased after 5 days, increased after 5-10 days, and stabilised after 15 d. BDOM accelerates PS MPs aging, leading to more DOM released from PS, which can be transformed into O via triplet-excited state (DOM and PS) to further enhance PS MPs aging, resulting in the realisation of the self-accelerated aging process of PS MPs. O plays a crucial role in the self-motivated accelerated aging process of PS MPs. These findings provide new insights into the effects of the DOM structure and composition on reactive oxygen species generation during MPs aging.