Collaborative Research: CAS-MNP: Understand and Predict the Adsorption of Organic Contaminants by Aging Microplastics

合作研究：CAS-MNP：了解和预测老化微塑料对有机污染物的吸附

• 批准号: 2003859
• 负责人: Onur Apul
• 金额: $ 7.9万
• 依托单位: University of Maine
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-09-01 至 2023-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2003859&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; CAS; MNP; Understand

This award from the Environmental Chemical Sciences Program in the Division of Chemistry supports Professors Francois Perreault and Jay Oswald at Arizona State University and Professor Onur Apul at the University of Maine for research on microplastics. These small plastic particles form during the breakdown of waste plastic. Because of their small size, microplastics accumulate more organic contaminants on their surface than larger plastic pieces. Microplastics age in the environment due to the action of sunlight or microorganisms, which changes their surface characteristics. To predict the environmental effects of microplastics, it is important to understand how aging of microplastics by sunlight or microorganisms affect contaminant adsorption. This project focuses on the aging of low-density polyethylene, one of the most abundant plastics. The exploratory scope of this project leads to insights for future in-depth studies of the nature of microplastics aging and their effect in complex natural systems. Graduate and undergraduate students at the two institutions have the opportunity to learn about interdisciplinary research, including experimental and theoretical work. The team also engages in age-appropriate outreach activities on the topic of plastic pollution for K-12 students in their communities. This project combines experimental and theoretical approaches to identify the molecular-level mechanisms involved in organic contaminant adsorption on pristine and aged low-density polyethylene microplastics. Laboratory-based aging procedures, simulating the effect of sunlight or surface biofilms, are used to produce well-characterized low-density polyethylene microparticles representative of environmental microplastics. Using these model microplastics, adsorption isotherms are measured for a range of model organic contaminants to determine how biofilms or the change in surface chemistry affect the adsorption of different classes of contaminant. Molecular dynamics simulations are used to identify, based on the aged microplastics characterization, the molecular-level changes in surface chemistry that occur during environmental aging. This multidisciplinary approach provides a mechanistic insight into how environmental aging by sunlight or biofilms affect the role of microplastics as vectors of organic contaminants in the environment. The experimental framework developed in this project can be applied to a wide range of microplastic materials or mechanism of environmental aging to provide a comprehensive understanding of how organic contaminants will interact with microplastics in the environment over time.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

化学系环境化学科学计划的这一奖项支持亚利桑那州立大学的Francois Perreault和Jay Oswald教授以及缅因州大学的Onur Apul教授对微塑料的研究。这些小塑料颗粒是在废塑料分解过程中形成的。由于其体积小，微塑料比较大的塑料片在其表面积累更多的有机污染物。微塑料在环境中由于阳光或微生物的作用而老化，从而改变了它们的表面特性。为了预测微塑料的环境影响，重要的是要了解阳光或微生物对微塑料的老化如何影响污染物的吸附。该项目的重点是低密度聚乙烯，最丰富的塑料之一的老化。该项目的探索范围为未来深入研究微塑料老化的性质及其在复杂自然系统中的影响提供了见解。研究生和本科生在这两个机构有机会了解跨学科的研究，包括实验和理论工作。该团队还参与了与年龄相适应的宣传活动，主题为K-12学生在他们的社区塑料污染。 该项目结合了实验和理论方法，以确定原始和老化的低密度聚乙烯微塑料上有机污染物吸附的分子水平机制。模拟阳光或表面生物膜的影响的基于实验室的老化程序用于生产代表环境微塑料的良好表征的低密度聚乙烯微粒。使用这些模型微塑料，吸附等温线测量一系列模型有机污染物，以确定生物膜或表面化学的变化如何影响不同类别的污染物的吸附。分子动力学模拟用于根据老化的微塑料表征来识别在环境老化期间发生的表面化学的分子水平变化。这种多学科方法提供了对阳光或生物膜引起的环境老化如何影响微塑料作为环境中有机污染物载体的作用的机理见解。该项目开发的实验框架可应用于广泛的微塑料材料或环境老化机制，以全面了解有机污染物如何随着时间的推移与环境中的微塑料相互作用。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Linear solvation energy relationships for adsorption of aromatic organic compounds by microplastics

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2023.119233
• 发表时间: 2023-09
• 期刊: Chemical Engineering Science
• 影响因子: 4.7
• 作者: M. Dilara Hatinoglu;Abdulrahman Adan;François Perreault;I. Imamoğlu;O. Apul

Aging of microplastics increases their adsorption affinity towards organic contaminants

• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134238
• 发表时间: 2022-03-11
• 期刊: CHEMOSPHERE
• 影响因子: 8.8
• 作者: Bhagat, Kartik;Barrios, Ana C.;Perreault, Francois
• 通讯作者: Perreault, Francois

Emerging investigator series: microplastic-based leachate formation under UV irradiation: the extent, characteristics, and mechanisms

新兴研究者系列：紫外线照射下微塑料渗滤液的形成：程度、特征和机制

• DOI: 10.1039/d2ew00423b
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology
• 作者: Collins, Ashton;Ateia, Mohamed;Bhagat, Kartik;Ohno, Tsutomu;Perreault, François;Apul, Onur
• 通讯作者: Apul, Onur

Adsorption of organic pollutants by microplastics: Overview of a dissonant literature

• DOI: 10.1016/j.hazadv.2022.100091
• 发表时间: 2022-05-01
• 期刊: JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ADVANCES
• 作者: Costigan, Eliza;Collins, Ashton;Apul, Onur
• 通讯作者: Apul, Onur