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Differences in Residual Behavior of a Bumetrizole Type Ultraviolet Light Absorber during Formation of Various Microplastics
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Researchers studied how a UV stabilizer chemical (UV-326) added to various plastics behaves as the plastics degrade in seawater. As plastics break down into microplastics, they release UV stabilizer additives into the environment — compounds that can persist and accumulate in aquatic organisms.
Quality-changed behavior of ultraviolet light absorber (UVA: UV-326) in polymers (PP, HDPE, LDPE, PLA and PS) over time during degradation was studied with an enhanced degradation method (EDM) using sulfate ion radical in seawater. EDM was employed to homogeneously degrade the entire polymer samples containing the UVA. The PP and PS samples containing 5-phr UVA films whitened rapidly due to formation of numerous grooves or crushed particles. The UVA loss rate of PS with the higher Tg was much slower. The crystalline polymers, with the exception of PS, were similar in the behavior of the change in UVA loss rate with respect to degradation time. The significant increase in initial loss rate observed during EDM degradation was due to microplasticization. A similar increase in microplasticization rate occurred with the PS, but the intermolecular interaction between UVA and PS did not result in as pronounced its increase in loss rate as with other polymers. The UVA chemical structure was not altered by EDM degradation. These results revealed that the UVA leaching from the polymer matrix was the primary cause of the loss.
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Differences in the Residual Behavior of a Bumetrizole-Type Ultraviolet Light Absorber during the Degradation of Various Polymers
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Researchers tracked how a UV-stabilizing chemical additive (UV-326) leaches out of five different plastics — PP, HDPE, LDPE, PLA, and PS — as they degrade in seawater, finding that the release rate depends on the polymer's structure and glass transition temperature. PS retained the additive longest due to its higher glass transition temperature, while crystalline polymers behaved similarly to one another. Because UV absorbers are toxic and persist in the environment, understanding how quickly they escape from degrading plastic fragments (microplastics) is important for assessing the chemical hazard posed by plastic pollution in marine environments.
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