November 22, 2024

New Plant-Based Plastic Releases 9 Times Less Microplastics

Conducted by researchers from the University of Portsmouth and the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) in Belgium, the study examined the degradation of 2 various types of plastic under harsh conditions.A bio-based plastic product made from natural feedstocks held up better when exposed to extreme UV light and seawater for 76 days– the equivalent of 24 months of sun direct exposure in main Europe– than a traditional plastic made from petroleum derivatives.Environmental Impacts of Bio-Based PlasticsProfessor of Mechanical Engineering, Hom Dhakal, from the Universitys School of Mechanical and Design Engineering, and a member of Revolution Plastics stated: “Bio-based plastics are acquiring interest as alternatives to standard plastics, but little is known about their prospective source of microplastics contamination in the marine environment.Professor Hom Dhakal. The traditional plastic released smaller sized pieces and had fewer fiber-like shapes compared to the plant-based plastic.Professor Dhakal added: “Overall our research study supplies important insights into the behavior of various plastic types under ecological stressors, which is crucial for our future work to tackle plastic pollution.”Reference: “Accelerated fragmentation of 2 thermoplastics (polylactic acid and polypropylene) into microplastics after UV radiation and seawater immersion” by Zhiyue Niu, Marco Curto, Maelenn Le Gall, Elke Demeyer, Jana Asselman, Colin R Janssen, Hom Nath Dhakal, Peter Davies, Ana Isabel Catarino and Gert Everaert, 19 January 2024, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety.DOI: 10.1016/ j.ecoenv.2024.115981 Professor Dhakal is a member of the Revolution Plastics initiative that has actually been critical in informing worldwide and nationwide policies on plastics, pioneering sophisticated enzyme recycling techniques, and contributing to vital discussions on the UN treaty to end plastic pollution.The research study was led by experts from the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), in Belgium, under collective worldwide work within the SeaBioComp task, which got funding from the Interreg 2 Seas Programme co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.