Presentazione, 2022, ENG

AGING AND DEGRADATION PHENOMENA INDUCED BY MARINE EN- VIRONMENT ON COMMERCIAL PLASTICS: AN IN-SITU EXPERIMENT

Cristina De Monte1, Marina Locritani2, Silvia Merlino3, Lucia Ricci1 and Simona Bronco1

1 Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici, Sede di Pisa del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, (IPCF-CNR), Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy 2 Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, Italy 3 Istituto di Scienze Marine, Sede di Lerici, del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, (ISMAR-CNR), 19032 Lerici, Italy

A new approach for studying the aging and degradation of commercial plastics in marine environments through an in-situ experiment is presented. Two experimental setups specifically designed for long-term monitoring of the behaviour of plastic granules (HDPE, PP, PLA and PBAT) are used. The results of the first six months of a three-year monitoring campaign are presented. The physico-chemical modifications that eventually occur in marine conditions (both in seawater and in sandy coastal conditions) on the granules before and after exposure to natural elements are described. Changes in colour, surface morphology, chemical composition, thermal properties, molecular weight and polydispersity, showed the diferences in influences of environmental conditions.

Conference: XXIV Convegno Nazionale AIM (Associazione Italiana di Scienza e tecnologia delle Macromolecole), Trento, Italy,, 4-7 Settembre 2022

Keywords

resin pellets, polymer degradation, microplastics, marine environment, bioplastics, multi-parametric platform

CNR authors

Ricci Lucia, De Monte Cristina, Merlino Silvia, Bronco Simona

CNR institutes