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Millions of microplastics released from a biodegradable polymer during biodegradation/enzymatic hydrolysis
KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Fibre- and Polymer Technology, Polymeric Materials.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7165-793x
KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Fibre- and Polymer Technology, Polymeric Materials.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2073-7005
KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Fibre- and Polymer Technology, Polymeric Materials.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4932-5303
KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Fibre- and Polymer Technology, Biocomposites.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2168-4504
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2022 (English)In: Water Research, ISSN 0043-1354, E-ISSN 1879-2448, Vol. 211, article id 118068Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In this article, we show that enzymatic hydrolysis of a biodegradable polyester (poly(e-caprolactone)) by Amano Lipase PS in an aqueous (buffer) environment yielded rapidly an excessive number of microplastic particles; merely 0.1 g of poly(e-caprolactone) film was demonstrated to yield millions of particles. There were also indications of non-enzymatic hydrolysis at the same conditions, but this did not yield any particles within the time frame of the experiment (up to 6 days). Microplastic particles formed had irregular shapes with an average size of around 10 pm, with only a few reaching 60 pm. The formation of microplastic particles resulted from the uneven hydrolysis/erosion rate across the polymer film surface, which led to a rough and undulating surface with ridge, branch, and rod-shaped micro-protruding structures. The consequent detachment and fragmentation of these micro-sized protruding structures resulted in the release of microplastics to the surroundings. Together with microplastics, hydrolysis products such as acidic monomers and oligomers were also released during the enzymatic hydrolysis process, causing a pH decrease in the surrounding liquid. The results suggest that the risk of microplastic pollution from biodegradable plastics is notable despite their biodegradation. Special attention needs to be paid when using and disposing of biodegradable plastics, considering the enormous impact of the paradigm shift towards more biodegradable products on the environment.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier BV , 2022. Vol. 211, article id 118068
Keywords [en]
Microplastics, Polyesters, Biodegradation, Enzymatic hydrolysis, Surface erosion, Biodegradable polymer
National Category
Environmental Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-310046DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118068ISI: 000758657500005PubMedID: 35066257Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85123079222OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-310046DiVA, id: diva2:1645761
Note

QC 20220318

Available from: 2022-03-18 Created: 2022-03-18 Last updated: 2022-06-25Bibliographically approved

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Wei, Xin-FengCapezza, Antonio JoseCui, YuxiaoLi, LengwanHedenqvist, Mikael S.

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