PMID- 34126529
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20210721
LR  - 20210721
IS  - 1095-8630 (Electronic)
IS  - 0301-4797 (Linking)
VI  - 294
DP  - 2021 Sep 15
TI  - Leachability of microplastic from different plastic materials.
PG  - 112995
LID - S0301-4797(21)01057-4 [pii]
LID - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112995 [doi]
AB  - The use of plastic has become common. Large amounts of plastic waste are disposed 
      in landfill without the ability to biodegrade. These plastic materials often 
      disintegrate into microplastic that end up in the leachate, a wastewater stream 
      containing harmful contaminants extracted from the plastic. These particles can 
      eventually contaminate the groundwater. The main objective of this research is to 
      evaluate the leaching of microplastics originated from different types of plastic 
      materials and to evaluate the role of pH in the disintegration process. In this 
      study, seven different types of plastic wastes were investigated. These include 
      Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Polyvinyl 
      Chloride (PVC), Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE), Polypropylene (PP), Polystyrene 
      (PS), and Polycarbonate (PC). Batch leaching tests were carried out to generate 
      leachate from these plastic materials. The leachate generated from the test was 
      eventually tested for different water quality parameters. Characterization of 
      microplastic particles was conducted using SEM-EDX, FT-IR and particle size 
      analyser. Results revealed that leachates from PET, LDPE, PS and PP contained 
      fibres in addition to other particles. Results showed that PC (19868 items/L) has 
      the largest, while PET (4099 items/L) has the smallest number of microplastic 
      particles per litre. The results indicated PC (184.1 mg/L) has the highest 
      concentration in mass/L and PS (43.1 mg/L) has the smallest concentrations. The 
      study also revealed pH has a significant impact on the leachability of plastic 
      materials and the turbidity of the leachate. Acidic and basic pH levels are more 
      aggressive to plastic materials than neutral pH levels. SEM analysis found that 
      PET and LDPE leachates contained fibres. EDX analysis conducted on the 
      microplastics indicated the presence of elements indicative of the plastic types. 
      FT-IR analysis was not conclusive for all the materials. Microplastic sizes were 
      mostly small and less than 500 nm for most of the samples. The study concludes 
      that the microplastic particles can disintegrate from the original plastic 
      materials under suitable conditions. The outcome of this study can be used for 
      efficient use of different plastic materials and management of its eventual waste 
      materials.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
FAU - Mortula, Md Maruf
AU  - Mortula MM
AD  - Department of Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, PO BOX 
      26666, United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: mmortula@aus.edu.
FAU - Atabay, Serter
AU  - Atabay S
AD  - Department of Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, PO BOX 
      26666, United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: satabay@aus.edu.
FAU - Fattah, Kazi Parvez
AU  - Fattah KP
AD  - Department of Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, PO BOX 
      26666, United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: kfattah@aus.edu.
FAU - Madbuly, Ahmad
AU  - Madbuly A
AD  - Department of Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, PO BOX 
      26666, United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: b00070170@aus.edu.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20210611
PL  - England
TA  - J Environ Manage
JT  - Journal of environmental management
JID - 0401664
RN  - 0 (Microplastics)
RN  - 0 (Plastics)
RN  - 0 (Water Pollutants, Chemical)
SB  - IM
MH  - Microplastics
MH  - *Plastics
MH  - Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
MH  - Waste Disposal Facilities
MH  - *Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Batch leaching test
OT  - Landfill
OT  - Leachate
OT  - Microplastic
OT  - Plastic waste
EDAT- 2021/06/15 06:00
MHDA- 2021/07/22 06:00
CRDT- 2021/06/14 20:27
PHST- 2020/11/28 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2021/04/20 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2021/06/01 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2021/06/15 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2021/07/22 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2021/06/14 20:27 [entrez]
AID - S0301-4797(21)01057-4 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112995 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Environ Manage. 2021 Sep 15;294:112995. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112995. 
      Epub 2021 Jun 11.