TY - JOUR A1 - Erdmann, Maren A1 - Kleinbub, Sherin A1 - Wachtendorf, Volker A1 - Schütter, Jan David A1 - Niebergall, Ute A1 - Böhning, Martin A1 - Koerdt, Andrea T1 - Photo-oxidation of PE-HD affecting polymer/fuel interaction and bacterial attachment JF - Materials Degradation N2 - In the present study, a simple approach was used to investigate the effect of UV-exposure on two high density Polyethylene materials (PE-HD), commonly used for storage tanks, on fuel sorption behavior and colonization by microorganisms. The aim was to investigate whether the sorption behavior of the fuels (diesel/biodiesel) and the colonization by microorganisms, frequently occurring in the fuel, is affected and may lead to undesirable or safety-relevant material changes. We showed that the UV-irradiation leads to significant changes of the sorption behavior due to chemi-crystallization and crosslinking. The fuel Sorption is affected by the UV-induced formation of polar carbonyl and hydroxyl groups predominantly occurring at the surface. With respect to microbial colonization behavior for Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, isolated from a contaminated diesel sample, differences of the initial adhesion could be shown depending on the initial type of polyethylene as well as on the degree of UV-induced degradation. KW - High density polyethylene KW - Bacterial attachment KW - UV-irradiation KW - Fuel sorption PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-510001 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41529-020-0122-1 VL - 4 IS - 1 SP - Article number: 18 PB - Nature Partner Journals AN - OPUS4-51000 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mueller, Axel A1 - Becker, Roland A1 - Dorgerloh, Ute A1 - Simon, Franz-Georg A1 - Braun, Ulrike T1 - The effect of polymer aging on the uptake of fuel aromatics and ethers by microplastics JF - Environmental Pollution N2 - Microplastics are increasingly entering marine, limnic and terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, where they sorb hydrophobic organic contaminants. Here, the sorption behavior of the fuel-related water contaminants benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene (BTEX) and four tertiary butyl ethers to virgin and via UV radiation aged polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) pellets was investigated. Changes in material properties due to aging were recorded using appropriate polymer characterization methods, such as differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and microscopy. Pellets were exposed to water containing BTEX and the ethers at 130-190 mg/L for up to two weeks. Aqueous sorbate concentrations were determined by headspace gas chromatography. Sorption to the polymers was correlated with the sorbate's Kow and was significant for BTEX and marginal for the ethers. Due to substantially lower glass transition temperatures, PP showed higher sorption than PS. Aging had no effect on the sorption behavior of PP. PS sorbed less BTEX after aging due to an oxidized surface layer. KW - BTEX KW - Polypropylene KW - Polystyrene KW - Sorption KW - Degradation PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.04.127 SN - 0269-7491 VL - 240 SP - 639 EP - 646 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-44990 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -