PMID- 22083414
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20120629
LR  - 20211021
IS  - 1614-7499 (Electronic)
IS  - 0944-1344 (Linking)
VI  - 19
IP  - 4
DP  - 2012 May
TI  - Sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to low and high density 
      polyethylene (PE).
PG  - 1296-304
LID - 10.1007/s11356-011-0655-5 [doi]
AB  - BACKGROUND, AIM, AND SCOPE: According to their high sorption capacity 
      polyethylene (PE) passive samplers are often used for the analysis of polycyclic 
      aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the aquatic environment. PE is also one of the 
      primary synthetic polymers found in oceans, and sorption of PAHs to marine PE 
      debris may determine PAH exposure and therefore hazards in marine ecosystems. 
      Thus, an understanding of the sorption process is of great importance. In the 
      present study, the sorption of several PAHs with different polarities to low 
      density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) was studied in 
      order to improve our understanding of the influence of material properties on the 
      Fickian diffusion of PAHs into PE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Batch sorption 
      experiments were performed with aqueous solutions containing acenaphthylene, 
      acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, and LPDE or HDPE 
      pellets. Samples were shaken in the dark at 20 +/- 1 degrees C for 16 time intervals within 
      one week. Concentrations of PAHs were determined in the aqueous samples using 
      solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. 
      The distribution coefficients (K (PE)) between PE and water were estimated from 
      different models reported in the literature. Kinetic sorption of the PAHs into 
      the plastic pellets was described by a diffusion model based on Fick's second law 
      in spherical coordinates. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: A comparison between different 
      models describing the equilibrium distribution of PAHs between PE and water 
      revealed that the sorption equilibrium seemed to be driven by parameters other 
      than, or in addition to, organic carbon. For both plastic types, diffusion 
      coefficients decreased while the molecular weight of the PAHs increased which 
      indicates a hindered diffusion through the matrix as a result of a larger 
      molecule size. Higher diffusion coefficients were derived for LPDE than for HDPE 
      indicating a greater sorption velocity for LPDE according to the lower polymer 
      density. CONCLUSIONS: Our results revealed that equilibrium time could be 
      shortened during passive sampling as polymer membranes of lower density are used. 
      In some areas, marine ecosystems may not be in equilibrium with respect to 
      concentrations of organic contaminants and abundance of marine plastic debris. In 
      such cases, different polymer densities should be taken into account in risk 
      assessments.
FAU - Fries, Elke
AU  - Fries E
AD  - Institute of Environmental Systems Research, University of Osnabrueck, 49076 
      Osnabrueck, Germany. efries@uni-osnabrueck.de
FAU - Zarfl, Christiane
AU  - Zarfl C
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20111115
PL  - Germany
TA  - Environ Sci Pollut Res Int
JT  - Environmental science and pollution research international
JID - 9441769
RN  - 0 (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons)
RN  - 0 (Water Pollutants, Chemical)
RN  - 9002-88-4 (Polyethylene)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adsorption
MH  - Diffusion
MH  - Environmental Monitoring
MH  - Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
MH  - Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons/*analysis/chemistry
MH  - Polyethylene/*chemistry
MH  - Solid Phase Extraction
MH  - Time Factors
MH  - Water Pollutants, Chemical/*analysis/chemistry
EDAT- 2011/11/16 06:00
MHDA- 2012/06/30 06:00
CRDT- 2011/11/16 06:00
PHST- 2011/07/23 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2011/10/26 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2011/11/16 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2011/11/16 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2012/06/30 06:00 [medline]
AID - 10.1007/s11356-011-0655-5 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2012 May;19(4):1296-304. doi: 
      10.1007/s11356-011-0655-5. Epub 2011 Nov 15.