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Microplastics aged in various environmental media exhibited strong sorption to heavy metals in seawater
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Researchers aged six types of microplastics — including polyamide and PET — in different environments and then measured their adsorption of heavy metals in seawater, finding that aging consistently increased metal sorption capacity and that environmental medium during aging strongly influenced the degree of surface modification.
To date, the degradation of microplastics (MPs; <5 mm) in different environments, particularly their adsorption characteristics for coexisted metal pollutants remains to be elucidated. Thus, this study investigated the effects of aging MPs, including polyamide (mPA), polyethylene terephthalate (mPET), polystyrene (mPS), and polyvinyl chloride (mPVC) for 3 months under UVA irradiation in four environmental media (air, seawater, sand, and soil) and adsorption of heavy metals (Cu, Cd) onto seawater-aged mPS and mPVC. The results showed that surface morphological changes, including cracks, oxidized particles, and wrinkles, appeared on aged MPs. The heavy metal adsorption capacity decreased in the order aged mPVC > aged mPS > unaged mPS > unaged mPVC, and the Cu and Cd ions competed for active adsorption sites on the MPs surfaces. Overall, the aging environment affected the physical and chemical properties of MPs and the aging of MPs enhanced their adsorption of coexisting metals tested.
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Researchers compared how polyethylene and polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics age in the environment and how that aging affects their ability to absorb heavy metals like cadmium and chromium from water. They found that aging changed the surface chemistry of both plastic types, increasing their capacity to pick up these toxic metals. The findings matter because aged microplastics in the environment may concentrate and transport more pollutants than fresh plastic particles.
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