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- 2016 (3) (entfernen)
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- Carbon nanotubes (1)
- Ingestion (1)
- Microfibre (1)
- Mikroplastik (1)
- Misidentification (1)
- Monitoring (1)
- Nanocomposites (1)
- Poly(ethylenterephthalat) (PET) (1)
- Polyethylen (PE) (1)
- Polymere (1)
Durch den stetig steigenden Einsatz von Plastikprodukten sind unerwünschte Kunststofffunde in verschiedenen Umweltmatrices mittlerweile allgegenwärtig. Besonderes Interesse erfahren die Kunststoffpartikel von einer Größe kleiner 5 mm, sogenannte Mikroplastik (MP) Partikel. Es werden aktuell Risiken für Mensch und Umwelt diskutiert, die von diesen Partikeln ausgehen.
Waste disposal of carbon nanotube (CNT) containing products is expected to be the most important pathway for release of CNTs into the environment. In the present work, the use of radiolabelled CNTs (14C-CNT) for polycarbonate polymer nanocomposites with 1 wt% 14C-CNT content allowed for the first time to quantify and differentiate the CNT release according to the type of impact along the materials' ageing history. After an initial exposure of the nanocomposite by solar-like irradiation, further environmental impacts were applied to composite material. They aimed at mimicking disposal site conditions that may induce further ageing effects and CNT release. This study included shaking in water, rapid temperature changes, soaking in humic acid solution as well as waste water effluent, and, finally, gentle mechanical abrasion. All ageing impacts were applied sequentially, both on pristine (control) and on solar-irradiated nanocomposites. All experiments were accompanied by absolute quantification of radioactive release as well as chemical and morphological analyses of the nanocomposite surfaces using infra-red (IR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The morphological analysis showed that spectral irradiation can uncover CNT networks on the outer nanocomposite surface layers by polymer degradation. After having subjected the solar-irradiated nanocomposite to all studied disposal site effect, the total radioactive release was quantified to amount to 64 mg CNT/m2, whereas only 0.8 mg CNT/m2 were found for the un-irradiated control sample. Solar degradation of polymers was thus found to significantly increase the propensity of the studied polymer nanocomposites to release CNTs during ageing effects at the product's end-of-life typical for disposal sites.
Monitoring the ingestion of microplastics is challenging and suitable detection techniques are insufficiently used. Thus, misidentifying natural for synthetic microfibres cannot be avoided. As part of a framework to monitor the ingestion of microplastics in eelpout, this short report addresses the accurate identification of microfibres. We show that, following visual inspections, putatively synthetic microfibres are indeed of natural origin, as ascertained by spectrometric analyses. Consequently, we call for an inclusion of spectroscopic techniques in standardized microplastic monitoring schemes.