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Plastic–Rock Complexes as Hotspots for Microplastic Generation

Environmental Science & Technology 2023 90 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.

Liuwei Wang, Liuwei Wang, Michael S. Bank, Liuwei Wang, Liuwei Wang, Deyi Hou, Deyi Hou, Liuwei Wang, Michael S. Bank, Liuwei Wang, Michael S. Bank, Liuwei Wang, Liuwei Wang, Liuwei Wang, Michael S. Bank, Michael S. Bank, Liuwei Wang, Liuwei Wang, Liuwei Wang, Deyi Hou, Liuwei Wang, Michael S. Bank, Jörg Rinklebe Michael S. Bank, Michael S. Bank, Jörg Rinklebe Michael S. Bank, Michael S. Bank, Jörg Rinklebe Jörg Rinklebe Michael S. Bank, Liuwei Wang, Liuwei Wang, Michael S. Bank, Jörg Rinklebe Liuwei Wang, Michael S. Bank, Liuwei Wang, Liuwei Wang, Michael S. Bank, Liuwei Wang, Liuwei Wang, Jörg Rinklebe Michael S. Bank, Michael S. Bank, Liuwei Wang, Deyi Hou, Deyi Hou, Deyi Hou, Deyi Hou, Deyi Hou, Deyi Hou, Deyi Hou, Michael S. Bank, Jörg Rinklebe Liuwei Wang, Jörg Rinklebe Michael S. Bank, Deyi Hou, Michael S. Bank, Liuwei Wang, Jörg Rinklebe Jörg Rinklebe Deyi Hou, Deyi Hou, Deyi Hou, Michael S. Bank, Deyi Hou, Liuwei Wang, Jörg Rinklebe Deyi Hou, Jörg Rinklebe Jörg Rinklebe Deyi Hou, Michael S. Bank, Deyi Hou, Michael S. Bank, Deyi Hou, Deyi Hou, Michael S. Bank, Deyi Hou, Deyi Hou, Deyi Hou, Liuwei Wang, Deyi Hou, Michael S. Bank, Jörg Rinklebe Jörg Rinklebe Jörg Rinklebe Jörg Rinklebe Jörg Rinklebe Jörg Rinklebe Jörg Rinklebe Jörg Rinklebe Jörg Rinklebe

Summary

Researchers discovered a new type of environmental material they call plastic-rock complexes, formed when discarded plastic films become permanently bonded to rock surfaces after flooding events. Laboratory testing showed these complexes serve as hotspots for generating new microplastics when exposed to repeated wet-dry cycles. The finding reveals a previously unknown pathway by which larger plastic waste breaks down into microplastics in the natural environment.

Polymers

LDPE PE PP

Study Type Environmental

Discarded plastics and microplastics (MPs) in the environment are considered emerging contaminants and indicators of the Anthropocene epoch. This study reports the discovery of a new type of plastic material in the environment─plastic-rock complexes─formed when plastic debris irreversibly sorbs onto the parent rock after historical flooding events. These complexes consist of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) or polypropylene (PP) films stuck onto quartz-dominated mineral matrices. These plastic-rock complexes serve as hotspots for MP generation, as evidenced by laboratory wet-dry cycling tests. Over 1.03 × 108 and 1.28 × 108 items·m-2 MPs were generated in a zero-order mode from the LDPE- and PP-rock complexes, respectively, following 10 wet-dry cycles. The speed of MP generation was 4-5 orders of magnitude higher than that in landfills, 2-3 orders of magnitude higher than that in seawater, and >1 order of magnitude higher than that in marine sediment as compared with previously reported data. Results from this investigation provide strong direct evidence of anthropogenic waste entering geological cycles and inducing potential ecological risks that may be exacerbated by climate change conditions such as flooding events. Future research should evaluate this phenomenon regarding ecosystem fluxes, fate, and transport and impacts of plastic pollution.

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