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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Aging of plastics in aquatic environments: Pathways, environmental behavior, ecological impacts, analyses and quantifications
ClearAging Process of Microplastics in the Aquatic Environments: Aging Pathway, Characteristic Change, Compound Effect, and Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals Formation
This review summarizes how microplastics age and transform in aquatic environments through oxidation, weathering, and fragmentation. Researchers documented changes in particle size, crystallinity, and surface chemistry during the aging process, and found that aged microplastics may interact synergistically with other environmental pollutants. The study also describes how photoaging generates environmentally persistent free radicals that could pose additional toxicity concerns.
Recent advances on microplastic aging: Identification, mechanism, influence factors, and additives release
This review found that environmental aging transforms microplastic surface properties through abrasion, chemical oxidation, UV irradiation, and biodegradation, altering their environmental behavior and ecological risk. Aging also triggers the release of toxic plastic additives, but significant gaps remain between laboratory aging simulations and real-world conditions.
Aging of plastics and microplastics in the environment: a review on influencing factors, quantification methods, challenges, and future perspectives
This review examined how plastics and microplastics age and degrade in the environment through physical, chemical, and biological processes. Researchers found that while various analytical techniques exist to measure degradation, there is no widely accepted standard method for comparing how different environmental conditions affect microplastic breakdown rates. The study highlights the need for better tools to predict how long microplastics will persist in different environments, which is essential for understanding their long-term ecological impact.
Progress on the photo aging mechanism of microplastics and related impact factors in water environment
This review examined the photo-aging mechanisms of microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that solar UV radiation drives oxidation reactions that alter surface chemistry, fragment particles further, and enhance their capacity to adsorb and release co-occurring pollutants.
Insights into the Photoaging Behavior of Microplastics: Environmental Fate and Ecological Risk
This review examines how sunlight ages microplastics in the environment, breaking them into smaller pieces and changing their surface chemistry in ways that make them more toxic and more likely to carry other pollutants. Sun-aged microplastics release dissolved organic matter that can harm aquatic life, and their roughened surfaces attract more bacteria and chemical contaminants. Since most microplastics in nature have been exposed to sunlight, their real-world health risks may be higher than studies using fresh lab plastics suggest.
The fate, impacts and potential risks of photoaging process of the microplastics in the aqueous environment
This review examines how ultraviolet light from sunlight causes microplastics in water to age and change their physical and chemical properties, including surface texture, chemical structure, and water-repelling ability. Researchers found that photoaged microplastics become better at carrying other pollutants and may pose greater environmental risks than fresh plastics. The study highlights that aged microplastics can also increase biological toxicity and human exposure risks compared to their original form.
Mechanism and characterization of microplastic aging process: A review
This review explains how microplastics age and break down in the environment through sunlight, heat, and chemical reactions, and why this aging process matters. As microplastics weather, their surfaces change in ways that make them better at absorbing toxic pollutants and more harmful to living organisms. Understanding these aging processes is important because the microplastics people encounter in food and water have typically been weathered, meaning they may be more dangerous than the fresh plastics used in most lab studies.
Mechanistic insights into non-negligible toxicity evolution of microplastics under different aging processes
This review examines how different environmental aging processes, such as UV exposure, mechanical wear, and chemical weathering, change the physical and chemical properties of microplastics and alter their toxicity. Researchers found that aged microplastics and the chemicals they leach tend to be more harmful to organisms than fresh particles, causing growth inhibition and genetic damage. The findings suggest that the environmental risks of microplastics may increase significantly as they degrade over time.
Photo-oxidation of Micro- and Nanoplastics: Physical, Chemical, and Biological Effects in Environments
This review examines how sunlight breaks down micro- and nanoplastics in the environment, changing their surface properties and making them interact differently with pollutants and living organisms. Sun-aged plastic particles can become more toxic to aquatic life and affect soil microbe communities, but many questions remain about these processes under real-world conditions.
Degradation of microplastics in the natural environment: A comprehensive review on process, mechanism, influencing factor and leaching behavior
This review examines how microplastics break down in the environment through physical, chemical, and biological processes, and what happens as they degrade. As microplastics age and fragment, they release chemical additives and dissolved organic matter that can be toxic, meaning degrading plastics may actually become more harmful to ecosystems and human health over time.
A comprehensive review of microplastic aging: Laboratory simulations, physicochemical properties, adsorption mechanisms, and environmental impacts
This review examines how microplastics change as they age in the environment through exposure to sunlight, water, and chemicals, becoming rougher and more chemically reactive over time. Aged microplastics absorb more pollutants than fresh ones and release harmful additives and free radicals, meaning the microplastics people encounter in the real world may be more dangerous than the pristine particles typically used in lab studies.
The wheel of time: The environmental dance of aged micro- and nanoplastics and their biological resonance
This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics change as they age in the environment through exposure to sunlight, water, and biological activity. Aged plastics behave differently than fresh ones: they accumulate faster in ecosystems, are more easily taken up by organisms, and can release trapped chemicals as they break down. The findings suggest that the real-world health and environmental risks of microplastics may be greater than lab studies using new, unweathered plastics indicate.
Innovative overview of the occurrence, aging characteristics, and ecological toxicity of microplastics in environmental media
This review summarizes existing research on where microplastics are found in the environment, how they age and break down, and their toxic effects on living organisms. The paper highlights that as microplastics weather in the environment through sunlight and chemical exposure, they become smaller and can carry other pollutants, potentially increasing their health risks. It also covers emerging strategies for detecting and removing microplastics.
Characteristics and behaviors of microplastics undergoing photoaging and Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) initiated aging
This review examines how microplastics change as they age in the environment through sunlight exposure and chemical processes. Aging alters the surface properties of microplastics, making them better at absorbing toxic chemicals and heavy metals from the surrounding environment. Since nearly all microplastics found in nature have undergone some degree of aging, understanding these changes is essential for accurately assessing how dangerous real-world microplastic pollution is to human health.
A Mini Review on Recent Insight into Degradation of Environmental Plastics
This mini-review summarizes current knowledge on how plastics break down in the environment to form microplastics, covering mechanical, photochemical, thermal, and biological degradation pathways, and identifies key gaps in understanding how environmental conditions and plastic properties influence degradation rates.
A review on enriched microplastics in environment: From the perspective of their aging impact and associate risk
This review explores what happens to microplastics as they age in the environment over long periods. Researchers found that natural weathering changes the physical and chemical properties of microplastics in ways that may increase their ability to harbor harmful microorganisms and interact with other pollutants, suggesting that aging may actually make microplastic pollution more hazardous over time rather than less.
Which factors mainly drive the photoaging of microplastics in freshwater?
This study systematically investigated the roles of UV irradiation, oxygen, temperature, and physical abrasion in the photoaging of polystyrene microplastics in freshwater. UV irradiation and mechanical abrasion were identified as the dominant aging factors, and their combined effect caused more extensive surface oxidation and fragmentation than either alone.
Aging Process of Microplastics in the Environment
This review examines how natural environmental processes — UV radiation, physical abrasion, chemical reactions, and biodegradation — alter the surface, shape, and chemistry of microplastics over time, and how these changes affect their ability to absorb and transport other pollutants. Understanding microplastic aging is critical because weathered particles behave differently than fresh plastic, often becoming more hazardous as pollutant carriers in ecosystems.
Comprehensive Understanding on the Aging Process and Mechanism of Microplastics in the Sediment–Water Interface: Untangling the Role of Photoaging and Biodegradation
Researchers examined how microplastics break down at the boundary between water and sediment in coastal wetlands, comparing the roles of sunlight-driven aging and biological degradation. They found that photoaging was the dominant process, accounting for over 55% of surface changes, and that biodegradable plastics aged faster than conventional ones. The study provides important insights into how microplastics transform in real-world coastal environments.
The environmental effects of microplastics and microplastic derived dissolved organic matter in aquatic environments: A review
This review examines how microplastics interact with other pollutants in water and how aging from sunlight and weathering changes their behavior. As microplastics break down, they release dissolved organic matter and develop surface changes that increase their ability to carry harmful chemicals like pesticides and pharmaceuticals. The findings suggest that weathered microplastics in real-world environments may be more dangerous than fresh plastics used in most lab studies.
From Macro to Micro Plastics; Influence of Photo-oxidative Degradation
This study used simulated UV aging to investigate how photo-oxidative degradation of common plastics drives fragmentation from macro to micro scale, characterizing the surface property changes and structural breakdown that generate microplastic particles in the environment.
Biodegradation of Plastic Waste: Environmental Implications and Remediation Approaches
This review examined physical, chemical, and biological degradation mechanisms of microplastics in the environment, including photodegradation, hydrolysis, and microbial breakdown. The authors discussed how degradation generates secondary microplastics and toxic by-products, and reviewed emerging mitigation strategies including advanced oxidation and enzymatic degradation.
[Research Progress on Plastic Aging Processes and Their Environmental Hazards].
This review examines the full dynamic aging process of plastics—from large pieces through microplastics and nanoplastics—including the mechanisms by which additives and soluble compounds are released during degradation. It concludes that while aging mechanisms are similar across plastic sizes, smaller particles carry greater potential for harm due to higher surface area and bioavailability.
Environmental behaviors of microplastics in aquatic systems: A systematic review on degradation, adsorption, toxicity and biofilm under aging conditions
Aging processes like UV irradiation and physical abrasion alter microplastic surface properties, increasing their capacity to adsorb environmental pollutants while also enhancing leaching of toxic additives like phthalates, collectively amplifying the environmental toxicity of weathered microplastics.