Tackling the Plastic Waste Problem: Quantifying Polymer Contamination of the Terrestrial Environment

解决塑料垃圾问题：量化陆地环境的聚合物污染

• 批准号: 2287407
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Bristol
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2287407
• 关键词: Tackling; Plastic; Waste; Problem; Quantifying

The presence of plastics in the environment is a growing, global issue. As a petroleum-based product, plastic (polymer) ingestion is harmful to wildlife, human well-being and global-national economies. By 2050, ocean plastic is expected to weigh more than fish, unless costly and ongoing clean-up operations are put in place urgently. Most ocean plastic 'litter' originates on land with major rivers providing important source-to-sink pathways into the ocean. How effectively the problem of plastic pollution in the ocean can be resolved is dependent on establishing effective methods for surveying, quantifying and modelling pollution pathways on land and examining how these can vary through time. A key area in need of further research is developing long-term strategies to reduce the amount of plastic pollution reaching the ocean from the terrestrial environment. As the impact of plastic pollution increases with decreasing particle size, the investigation of microplastics (particles < 5 mm) is particularly relevant. This project aims to quantify microplastics in terrestrial sediment and soil samples, taken from major river systems in temperate, tropical and polar regions. Primarily, novel Py-GC/MS techniques shall be developed and implemented, alongside new analytical protocols. With the resulting spatial and temporal pollution datasets, source-to-sink litter pathways can be modelled and investigated, with a view to determining effective remediation strategies.

环境中塑料的存在是一个日益严重的全球性问题。作为一种石油产品，摄入塑料（聚合物）对野生动物、人类福祉和全球国家经济有害。到 2050 年，海洋塑料的重量预计将超过鱼类，除非紧急采取昂贵且持续的清理行动。大多数海洋塑料“垃圾”起源于陆地，主要河流为进入海洋提供了重要的“源头到汇点”通道。如何有效地解决海洋中的塑料污染问题取决于建立有效的方法来调查、量化和建模陆地上的污染途径，并研究这些途径如何随时间变化。需要进一步研究的一个关键领域是制定长期战略，以减少从陆地环境进入海洋的塑料污染量。由于塑料污染的影响随着颗粒尺寸的减小而增加，因此对微塑料（颗粒 < 5 毫米）的研究尤为重要。该项目旨在量化从温带、热带和极地地区主要河流系统采集的陆地沉积物和土壤样本中的微塑料。首先，应开发和实施新型 Py-GC/MS 技术以及新的分析协议。利用所得的时空污染数据集，可以对从源到汇的垃圾路径进行建模和研究，以确定有效的修复策略。