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Investigation into the impact of aged microplastics on oil behavior in shoreline environments
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Aged microplastics with oxidized surfaces affected oil behavior in shoreline environments by altering oil spreading, incorporation of plastic into oil-sediment aggregates, and oil sinking dynamics, with the degree of MP aging determining whether the interaction increased or decreased oil persistence in beach sediments after a simulated spill.
Understanding the interactions between oil and other particles in shoreline can help determine the environmental risk and cleanup strategy after oil spill. Nevertheless, far less has been known regarding the impact of aged MPs on oil behavior in the shoreline environment. In this study, the aging course of polyethylene (PE) in shaking seawater and ultraviolet (UV) radiation conditions was investigated. The seawater aging mainly affected the physical properties of MPs, increasing its surface pores and hydrophilicity. UV aging significantly affected both the physical and chemical properties of MPs, which increased its hydrophilicity and crystallinity, decreased its mean particle size and introduced oxygen-containing functional groups onto MPs. The two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D COS) analysis confirmed the evolution of oxygen-containing functional groups from C-O to CO. The effects of aged MPs on oil behavior in water-sand system were further explored. The oil remaining percentages were non-linearly changed with the increasing aging degree of MPs. The particle size of the aqueous phase after washing was inversely related to the oil remaining percentage. Further FTIR analysis revealed that C-O and C-H functional groups played an important role in the process of oil adsorbed on MPs.
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