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.

化学部支持瓦尔帕莱索大学的Julie Peller教授和长滩的加州州立大学的Stephen Mezyk教授获得该奖项。他们研究微塑料，微塑料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表面沃茨中找到。由于塑料材料非常稳定，许多污染物已经在水中停留了几十年，在那里它经历了非常缓慢的变化。然而，这些变化还没有得到很好的理解，可能对生态系统和人类健康有害。该项目研究了水中微塑料的长期变化，以确定化学变化的细节及其缓慢分解造成的危害程度。 这是在实验室中通过使用高能辐射源来完成的，这种辐射源模拟了自然界中类似的风化变化，但可以在更短的时间内完成。该项目为两个机构的多名本科生提供了研究机会，其结果被整合到课堂中。关于这一主题的信息具有高度的社会相关性，正在向公众传播。微塑料在水中的自然分解非常缓慢，这使得很难确定所涉及的反应性自由基的化学反应速率和机制。 为了使这些研究可行，Julie Peller教授和Stephen Mezyk教授使用电离辐射技术在水中快速（数小时）和可重复地产生活性自由基。 该过程模拟了海洋和淡水环境中发生的长期（数年）自然、基于自由基的反应的影响，并允许定量确定微塑料与这些自由基的基本化学反应性。 他们还研究了转化（老化）微塑料的表面和吸附特性，并与新材料进行了比较。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并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

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