TY - JOUR A1 - Wachtendorf, Volker A1 - Kalbe, Ute A1 - Krüger, O. A1 - Bandow, Nicole ED - Brown, R. ED - Gedde, U.W. ED - Hedenqvist, M.S. T1 - Influence of weathering on the leaching behaviour of zinc and PAH from synthetic sports surfaces JF - Polymer Testing N2 - Synthetic materials used for outdoor sports grounds consist of a mix of inorganic, organic and polymeric compounds that show ageing due to weathering and a complex leaching behaviour by percolation of rainwater, which can limit its lifetime. Additionally, weathering exposure induces degradation processes in the polymers, which leads to the formation of new surfaces allowing water to access additional reservoirs of leachable compounds. A laboratory test comprising artificial weathering, ozonisation and subsequent leaching was developed to investigate this behaviour in a reproducible and controllable way. The experiments showed a general decline of Zn, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations after an initial increase. Within this general trend, the course of concentration over exposure duration is very specific for individual sample materials and the analyte under investigation. The results indicate that weathering and degradation behaviour cannot be predicted from initial material conditions. Thus, weathering experiments are recommended to fill this gap of knowledge. KW - Athletic tracks KW - Artificial turf KW - Ageing KW - Artificial weathering KW - Polymer degradation KW - Rubber granules KW - Leaching KW - Contamination PY - 2017 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2017.09.021 SN - 0142-9418 SN - 1873-2348 VL - 63 IS - October SP - 621 EP - 631 PB - Elsevier Ltd. CY - Amsterdam, The Netherlands AN - OPUS4-42205 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bandow, Nicole A1 - Will, Verena A1 - Wachtendorf, Volker A1 - Simon, Franz-Georg T1 - Contaminant release from aged microplastic JF - Environmental Chemistry N2 - Recycled plastic granules of high-density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene the size of microplastics were exposed to artificial aging conditions (2000 h; photooxidative and thermo-oxidative) to simulate their fate outdoors. Their potential to leach into water during the aging process was investigated using column percolation tests. Aging-related changes on the surface of the material were characterised by IR measurements indicating oxidation reactions with the formation of new adsorption bands (C=O, C–O and OH), especially in the case of photooxidative aging. These findings were confirmed by the identification of leachable organic compounds. Leaching of total organic carbon, Cl, Ca, Cu and Zn is clearly affected by changes due to aging, and their release is increased after photooxidative aging. In general, exposure to photooxidative conditions shows a greater influence on aging and thus on leaching and seems to be the more important mechanism for the aging of microplastic in the environment. Comparison with the total content of inorganic species revealed that, for most elements, less than 3% of the total content is released after 2000 h of photooxidative aging. KW - Column percolation tests KW - Heavy metals KW - Photo-oxidation KW - Thermo-oxidation PY - 2017 DO - https://doi.org/10.1071/EN17064 SN - 1448-2517 SN - 1449-8979 VL - 14 IS - 6 SP - 394 EP - 405 AN - OPUS4-43222 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -