Open Access

This study reflects typical consumer textile washing behaviour while taking into account existing standards in the household appliance and garment industries. Two garments were washed repeatedly with artificial dirt and detergent 30 times. The collected washing water was separated using fractional filtration. Textile physical tests were used to follow property changes of the garments, the microplastic release is determined using thermoextraction/desorbtion–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and the total organic carbon was measured as a sum parameter for the organic bonded carbon. This article shows the importance of a reality‐based approach when investigating microplastics of textile origin in the laundry care process. Deposits of detergent and dirt on the textiles were detected. The total mass of sieve residues was much higher than the release of synthetic polymers. The cotton content of the garments causes a much higher fibre release than synthetic fibres. Both will lead to false results by purely gravimetric analysis because nonpolymer fibres will be included microplastic mass. The results cannot be generalised only by the main polymer type, knowledge of the textile construction must be included for final evaluation.

The talk gives ideas about possible collaboration between BAM and PlasticEurope and their BRIGID project.

Microplastics are widely distributed in aquatic and terrestrial environments, but up to now less is known about (eco)toxicological impacts under realistic conditions. Research so far has focused mainly on impacts on organisms by fresh, single‐origin plastic fragments or beads. However, plastics found in the environment are complex in composition, this means different polymer types and sources, with and without additives and in all stages of age, and therefore, in a more or less advanced stage of degradation. For oxidized degradation products that might be released from plastic materials during aging, there is a lack of information on potentially adverse effects on aquatic biota. The latter is of particular interest as oxidized degradation products might become more water soluble due to higher polarity and are more bioavailable, therefore. The present study focused on plastic leachates of polystyrene (PS) and polylactic acid (PLA), which were derived from alternating stress by hydrolysis and ultraviolet (UV) radiation—representing a realistic scenario in the environment. Test specimens of PS, PLA, or a PLA/PS layer (each 50%) were alternately exposed to UV radiation for 5 days followed by hydrolysis for 2 days, for several weeks alternating. Ecotoxicological effects of the storage water (artificial freshwater) of the test specimens and additionally, in a second experimental setup, the effects of five potential polymer degradation products were detected by 72 h algae growth inhibition tests with Desmodesmus subspicatus. Results clearly indicate inhibitory effects on algae growth by contaminants in the storage water of stressed plastics with increasing growth inhibition of proceeding hydrolysis and UV stress times. Different polymers caused variable inhibitions of algae growth with stronger inhibitions by PS and less effects by PLA and the mixed layer of both. Moreover, not microplastic particles but the resulting dissolved degradation products after aging caused the ecotoxicological effects—with strong effects by the oxidized degradation products. The existing data highlight the relevance of plastic aging as a framework for microplastic ecotoxicity evaluation and allow a proof of concept.

In recent years, thermoextraction/desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TED-GC/MS) has been developed as a rapid detection method for the determination of microplastics (MP) mass contents in numerous environmentally relevant matrices and, in particular, for the measurement of polymers in water samples without time-consuming sample preparation. The TED-GC/MS method was applied to investigate a typical European municipal wastewater system for possible MP masses. Such investigations are important in view of the recent revision of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. Four different representative sampling sites were selected: greywater (domestic wastewater without toilet), combined sewer, and influent and effluent of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). All samples were collected by fractional filtration. Filtration was carried out over mesh sizes of 500, 100, 50, and in some cases, 5 µm. Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) were detected in all samples, with the PE fraction dominating in all cases. Styrene-butadiene rubber which serves as an indication of tire abrasion, was only found in the influent of the WWTP. The highest MP mass contents were found in the combined sewer, so MP can become a source of pollution during heavy rain events when the capacity limits of the effluent are reached, and the polluted effluent is released uncontrolled into the environment. Based on the studies, MP retention from the WWTP could be estimated to be approximately 96%. Few trends in polymer type or mass contents were detected within the different fractions of the samples or when comparing samples to each other.

Funktionalisierte Oberflächen sind in vielen Bereichen, z. B. als Haftvermittler in Polymerkompositen, für katalytische Anwendungen oder als Sensoren von Interesse. Für viele solcher Anwendungen ist es ausreichend, den verwendeten Werkstoff mit einem ultradünnen Polymerfilm zu überziehen. Dazu gibt es bislang einige Verfahren, wie z. B. Chemical Vapour Deposition, Layer-by-Layer-Technik, Langmuir-Blodgett-Technik oder Spin-Coating, die alle bestimmte Nachteile haben. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden wenige Nanometer dicke Polymerschichten auf metallischen und nicht-metallischen Substraten mittels Elektrospray Ionisation abgeschieden. So wurden typischerweise etwa 10 nm dicke Schichten von Polyacrylsäure (PAA) hergestellt. Die analytische Charakterisierung der produzierten Schichten erfolgte mit der Röntgen-Photoelektronenspektroskopie. Die Atomkraft- bzw. Rasterelektronenmikroskopie gaben Auskunft über den Bedeckungsgrad und die Schichtmorphologie. Die Infrarot-Reflexions-Absorptions-Spektroskopie wurde zur Bestimmung des Restlösemittelgehaltes verwendet. Zur Optimierung der Schichtabscheidung und -struktur wurden verschiedene Parameter variiert, wie z. B. der Kapillaren-Proben-Abstand, die Beschichtungszeit oder die Beschichtungstemperatur, wobei sich herausstellte, dass die Schichtbildungsparameter für jedes Polymer individuell angepasst werden müssen. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass Beschichtungen, bei denen sich das Substrat senkrecht zur Kapillare befindet, bei Raumtemperatur mit einem Kapillaren-Proben-Abstand von mindestens 100 mm zu lösemittelfreien PAA-Schichten führen. Dabei war die Ausbildung der Filmtopographie unabhängig sowohl von der Konzentration der Lösung als auch von der Oberflächenenergie des Substrates.