EAGER: CAS-MNP: Laboratory Radiation Chemistry Methods to Induce Rapid Aging of Microplastics in Water to Assess Fundamental Chemical Reactivity Changes

EAGER：CAS-MNP：实验室辐射化学方法诱导水中微塑料快速老化，以评估基本化学反应性变化

• 批准号: 2035499
• 负责人: Julie Peller
• 金额: $ 29.91万
• 依托单位: Valparaiso University
• 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 2023-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2035499&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; CAS; MNP; Laboratory; Radiation

The Division of Chemistry supports Professor Julie Peller at Valparaiso University and Professor Stephen Mezyk at the California State University at Long Beach with this award. They study microplastics, which are tiny fragments of plastic waste and can be found in our oceans, lakes, and other surface waters around the world. Since plastic materials are extremely stable, much of this pollution has resided in the water for many decades, where it undergoes changes very slowly. However, these changes are not well understood, and may be harmful to ecosystems and human health. This project studies the long-term changes of microplastics in water to determine the details of the chemical changes and the level of hazard created from their slow breakdown. This is done in the laboratory by using high energy radiation sources, which simulate similar weathering changes in nature but can be done in much shorter time. The project provides research opportunities for multiple undergraduate students at both institutions and the results are integrated into classes. Information on this topic is of high societal relevance and is being communicated to the public. The natural decomposition of microplastic in water is very slow, which makes it difficult to determine chemical reaction rates and mechanisms of the reactive radicals involved. To make such studies feasible, Professor Julie Peller and Professor Stephen Mezyk use ionizing radiation techniques to create reactive radicals in water rapidly (in hours) and reproducibly. This process mimics the impacts of long-term (years) natural, radical-based reactions occurring in marine and freshwater environments and allows the fundamental chemical reactivity of microplastics with these radicals to be determined quantitatively. They also study the surface and adsorption properties of transformed (aged) microplastics and compare to those of new materials. The data lead to a better understanding of the risks of microplastics in the natural environment.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.

化学系为瓦尔帕莱索大学的朱莉·佩勒教授和长滩加利福尼亚州立大学的斯蒂芬·梅齐克教授提供了这个奖项。他们研究了微塑料，它们是塑料废物的微小碎片，可以在我们的海洋，湖泊和世界各地的其他地表水中找到。由于塑料材料非常稳定，因此这种污染的大部分已经在水中居住了数十年，因此它的发生变化非常缓慢。但是，这些变化尚未得到充分理解，可能对生态系统和人类健康有害。该项目研究了水中的微塑料的长期变化，以确定化学变化的细节以及由于其缓慢的分解而产生的危害水平。 这是通过使用高能量辐射源在实验室中完成的，该源模拟了自然界的类似风化变化，但可以在更短的时间内完成。该项目为机构的多个本科生提供了研究机会，结果将整合到课堂中。有关此主题的信息具有很高的社会意义，并且正在向公众传达。微塑料在水中的自然分解非常慢，这使得难以确定涉及反应性自由基的化学反应速率和机制。 为了使此类研究可行，朱莉·佩勒（Julie Peller）教授和斯蒂芬·梅齐克（Stephen Mezyk）教授使用电离辐射技术来迅速（数小时）和可重复地在水中创建反应性激进分子。 该过程模仿了在海洋和淡水环境中发生的长期（年）天然基于自由基反应的影响，并允许微塑料与这些自由基的基本化学反应性进行定量确定。 他们还研究了转化的（老化）微塑料的表面和吸附特性，并与新材料相比。该数据可以更好地理解自然环境中微型塑料的风险。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并且使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响标准，被认为值得通过评估来获得支持。

项目成果

The Reactivity of Polyethylene Microplastics in Water under Low Oxygen Conditions Using Radiation Chemistry

• DOI: 10.3390/w13213120
• 发表时间: 2021-11
• 期刊: Water
• 影响因子: 3.4
• 作者: J. Peller;S. Mezyk;Sarah Shidler;Joe Castleman;Scott Kaiser;Gregory P. Horne