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Release of the additive metals from 3 commonly used plastics during the degradation under the treatment of UV irradiation
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Researchers measured the release of heavy metals (chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, and lead) from three common plastics as they degraded under UV light. As the plastics broke down into microplastics, they released these metals — many of which are added as stabilizers or colorants during manufacturing. This shows that microplastics in the environment carry not just plastic fragments but also a cargo of toxic metals.
Additive metals are continuously released into the environment during the photo-degradation of plastics into microplastics, but this phenomenon has not been reported by many studies. Herein, we investigated the surface morphology changes along with the release of additive metals (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, and Pb) during the degradation of three types of plastics, i.e., polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), under UV light irradiation. FTIR results showed that 168 days of UV-irradiation led to the primary degradation of each plastic sample. The metal release could be found after 70 days UV-irradiation. The rate of metal release for the three plastics showed the following order: PP > PET ≈ PVC. In addition, the distribution and concentrations of the metals in the plastic could influence the release characteristics of each metal. Low release rate of Fe symbolized by the total metal release in the range of 4.28 ~10.27% as evident from the results of the primary degradation experiment, indicated the release of Fe occurring in the late stage of the plastic degradation or even in the microplastics-formation stage. As for the release of Co from PP, it was far lower than that of the other elements (0.35%), showing the same release characteristics as that of Fe. On the contrary, the release ratio of Pb from PP was 78.89% and was mainly concentrated in the early stage of the plastic degradation. The results help understanding the release behavior of the additive metals during the degradation of typical plastics under ultraviolet light irradiation.
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