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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Macro-plastic weathering in a coastal environment: field experiment in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland
ClearTowards Understanding Drivers of Plastic Embrittlement and Fragmentation in Coastal Environments
This review examines the physical and chemical drivers of plastic fragmentation in coastal environments, including UV radiation, mechanical wave action, temperature fluctuations, and oxidation. The authors find that coastal environments produce microplastics faster than open ocean environments due to compounding abiotic stressors, and that fragmentation dynamics shape the size distribution and toxicity profile of coastal plastic pollution.
Combined Effects of UV Exposure Duration and Mechanical Abrasion on Microplastic Fragmentation by Polymer Type
Researchers studied how UV exposure duration and mechanical abrasion combine to fragment different plastic types under simulated beach conditions. They found that polypropylene was far more susceptible to fragmentation than polyethylene after UV weathering, while expanded polystyrene broke apart readily even without UV exposure. The experiments showed that a large fraction of fragmented particles were too small to recover, suggesting that significant amounts of nanoplastic are being generated on beaches.
Laboratory-Simulated Photoirradiation Reveals Strong Resistance of Primary Macroplastics to Weathering
Laboratory weathering experiments showed that common plastic items (HDPE, LDPE, PP, PS, PC) retain their bulk structural integrity even after simulated UV and mechanical exposure equivalent to decades of coastal conditions, yet shed a thin surface layer rich in microplastic fragments. This means macroplastics in the ocean act as a persistent, long-term source of microplastic particles even when they appear physically intact.
Weathering Processand Characteristics of Microplasticsin Coastal Wetlands: A 24-Month In Situ Study
Researchers conducted a 24-month study of microplastic weathering in coastal wetlands, characterizing how wetland-specific conditions including UV exposure, salinity, and biological activity alter plastic surface chemistry, fragmentation, and biofilm colonization over time.
Simulated experimental investigation of microplastic weathering in marine environment
Researchers simulated microplastic weathering under marine conditions, finding that exposure to UV light, saltwater, and mechanical abrasion progressively degraded plastic surfaces, increased surface roughness, and enhanced the adsorption capacity of contaminants onto microplastic particles.
Degradation and Fragmentation of Microplastics
This review examines the degradation and fragmentation mechanisms that generate secondary microplastics from ocean plastic debris, covering photo-oxidation chemistry, environmental weathering rates, and how different polymer types break down under marine conditions.
Physicochemical and biological ageing processes of (micro)plastics in the environment: a multi-tiered study on polyethylene
Researchers applied a multi-tiered approach combining laboratory aging, field deployment, and environmental simulation to study how polyethylene plastic undergoes physicochemical and biological weathering in natural settings. The study found that UV radiation and microbial colonization act synergistically to accelerate surface oxidation and fragmentation of PE into smaller particles.
From macroplastic to microplastic: Degradation of high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene in a salt marsh habitat
Researchers subjected high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, and other plastics to simulated environmental degradation and tracked their fragmentation from macro- to microplastic sizes, characterizing surface changes and particle generation rates.
Linking UV aging of polymers and microplastics formation: An assessment employing various characterization techniques
This study used environmental assessment tools to model how UV aging of plastic polymers drives microplastic formation in marine environments. The analysis identified polymer-specific degradation rates and environmental conditions that accelerate the conversion of plastic debris into microplastics.
On mechanical fragmentation of single-use plastics in the sea swash zone with different types of bottom sediments: Insights from laboratory experiments
Laboratory experiments simulated wave action and beach conditions to study how four common plastic types mechanically fragment from centimeter-scale pieces into microplastics, with fragmentation rates depending on plastic type and sediment composition. Understanding these fragmentation dynamics helps explain how beach plastic litter generates the microplastic particles found in coastal environments.
Environmental Degradation and Fragmentation of Microplastics: Dependence on Polymer Type, Humidity, UV Dose and Temperature
A systematic study of UV dose, humidity, and temperature effects on six polymer types found that photo-oxidation is the primary driver of microplastic fragmentation and release of secondary nano-sized particles, with the relationship between weathering conditions and fragmentation rates varying by polymer type.
Weathering Process and Characteristics of Microplastics in Coastal Wetlands: A 24-Month In Situ Study
Researchers placed five types of common microplastics in a coastal wetland for 24 months and tracked how they broke down over time. All plastics showed increasing surface damage, chemical changes, and fragmentation, with polystyrene degrading the fastest. The study demonstrates that natural environments actively break microplastics into ever-smaller pieces, which are more easily taken up by organisms and can eventually enter the human food chain.
Microplastics formation based on degradation characteristics of beached plastic bags
Laboratory weathering of plastic bags under UV and mechanical stress produced microplastic fragments of varied sizes and shapes, with degradation rate and fragment characteristics depending on the bag material and environmental conditions.
Microplastics Generation: Onset of Fragmentation of Polyethylene Films in Marine Environment Mesocosms
Researchers investigated how high-density polyethylene films from plastic bags fragment into microplastics under simulated beach and nearshore conditions over six months. The study found that natural sunlight exposure on sand or in seawater caused measurable degradation, providing evidence for how everyday plastic bags break down into microplastic particles in marine environments.
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.
Linking UV aging of polymers and microplastics formation: An assessment employing various characterization techniques
Researchers examined the link between UV aging of plastic polymers and the generation of microplastics in marine environments, using environmental assessment tools to model the process. The study clarifies how photodegradation rates and polymer type influence the rate and quantity of microplastic formation.
Weathering and fragmentation of plastic debris in the ocean environment
This review investigates how plastic debris breaks down into microplastics in the ocean through weathering driven by UV radiation and oxidation. Researchers found that beach environments are far more effective at fragmenting plastics than the open ocean surface, since floating plastics experience less UV exposure and oxidation. The study suggests that most secondary microplastic generation likely occurs on shorelines rather than in the open sea.
UVA-induced weathering of microplastics in seawater: surface property transformations and kinetics
Researchers studied how UVA radiation weathers microplastics in seawater, examining changes to surface properties and degradation rates. The study developed a model integrating an aging index with degradation kinetics, finding that UV exposure significantly transforms microplastic surface characteristics, which affects their behavior and potential ecological impact in marine environments.
From macroplastics to microplastics: Role of water in the fragmentation of polyethylene
Laboratory photodegradation experiments compared how polyethylene plastic films fragment in water versus air under UV light, finding that the aquatic environment significantly influences the physical and chemical breakdown of plastic into microplastics. The study improves understanding of how water immersion changes the photodegradation pathways of floating and submerged plastic debris.
Aging simulation of thin-film plastics in different environments to examine the formation of microplastic
Researchers aged polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene thin films under land, freshwater, estuarine, and oceanic conditions, finding that UV radiation was the primary driver of surface degradation and microplastic formation, with degradation rates varying substantially by environmental medium.
Environmental degradation and fragmentation of microplastics: dependence on polymer type, humidity, UV dose and temperature
Researchers systematically tested how UV light, temperature, and humidity cause five common plastic types to break apart into secondary microplastics and nanoplastics. They found that the type of plastic — not the aging conditions — was the main factor determining how quickly it fragmented and what byproducts it released, data that can improve models predicting how plastics break down in the environment.
Влияние ультрафиолетового излучения на фрагментацию полимеров в водной среде
This review examines how UV radiation drives polymer fragmentation in aquatic environments through autocatalytic thermal oxidation initiated by solar radiation, which combined with wind and mechanical stress causes molecular chain scission. The authors also discuss how prior UV aging accelerates subsequent mechanical fragmentation, providing a mechanistic framework for understanding microplastic generation from larger plastic items in water.
To what extent are microplastics from the open ocean weathered?
Researchers collected plastic debris from the North Atlantic subtropical gyre and analyzed its physical and chemical weathering, finding that most particles showed signs of significant UV-induced oxidation. Understanding the degree of weathering is important because it affects how plastics interact with organisms and how easily they fragment further into nanoplastics.
Nanofragmentation of Expanded Polystyrene Under Simulated Environmental Weathering (Thermooxidative Degradation and Hydrodynamic Turbulence)
Researchers studied the combined effect of UV oxidation and mechanical abrasion on the fragmentation of expanded polystyrene under simulated marine weathering conditions. They found that oxidative degradation and mechanical stress together drive the breakdown of macroplastics into micro- and nanoscale particles in the ocean.