Mechanical formation of micro- and nano-plastic materials for environmental studies in agricultural ecosystems

Astner, A. F.; Hayes, D. G.; O'Neill, H.; Evans, B. R.; Pingali, S. V.; Urban, V. S.; Young, T. M.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.241

Title: Mechanical formation of micro- and nano-plastic materials for environmental studies in agricultural ecosystems

Journal Article · Mon Jun 17 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Science of the Total Environment

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.241· OSTI ID:1530063

Astner, A. F. ^[1];

^[1];

^[2];

^[2]; Young, T. M. ^[1]

Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Release of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) into agricultural fields is of great concern due to their reported ecotoxicity to organisms that provide beneficial service to the soil such as earthworms, and the potential ability of MPs and NPs to enter the food chain. Most fundamental studies of the fate and transport of plastic particulates in terrestrial environments employ idealized MP materials as models, such as monodisperse polystyrene spheres. In contrast, plastics that reside in agricultural soils consist of polydisperse fragments resulting from degraded films employed in agriculture. There is a need for more representative materials in fundamental studies of the fate, transport, and ecotoxicity of MPs and NPs in soil ecosystems. The aim of this study was therefore to develop a procedure to produce MPs and NPs from agricultural plastics (a mulch film prepared biodegradable polymer polybutyrate adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) and low-density PE [LDPE]), and to characterize the resultant materials. Soaking of PBAT films under cryogenic conditions promoted embrittlement, similar to what occurs through environmental weathering. LDPE and cryogenically-treated PBAT underwent mechanical milling followed by sieve fractionation into MP fractions of 840 μm, 250 μm, 106 μm, and 45 μm. The 106 μm fraction was subjected to wet grinding to produce NPs of average particle size 366.0 nm and 389.4 nm for PBAT and LDPE, respectively. A two-parameter Weibull model described the MPs' particle size distributions, while NPs possessed bimodal distributions. Size reduction did not produce any changes in the chemical properties of the plastics, except for slight depolymerization and an increase of crystallinity resulting from cryogenic treatment. This study implies that MPs form from cutting and high-impact mechanical degradation as would occur during the tillage into soil, and that NPs form from the MP fragments in regions of relative weakness that possess lower molecular weight polymers and crystallinity.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 1530063

Journal Information:: Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 685, Issue C; ISSN 0048-9697

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 63 works

Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (52)

Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Aquatic Environments: Aggregation, Deposition, and Enhanced Contaminant Transport Alimi, Olubukola S.; Farner Budarz, Jeffrey; Hernandez, Laura M. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 52, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b05559	journal	January 2018
Fractionation of grain size in terrestrial sediment routing systems Allen, Philip A.; Michael, Nikolaos A.; D’Arcy, Mitchall Basin Research, Vol. 29, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.12172	journal	January 2016
Particle size distribution models, their characteristics and fitting capability Bayat, Hossein; Rastgo, Mostafa; Mansouri Zadeh, Moharram Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 529 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.08.067	journal	October 2015
Plastics in soil: Analytical methods and possible sources Bläsing, Melanie; Amelung, Wulf Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 612 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.086	journal	January 2018
Potential Health Impact of Environmentally Released Micro- and Nanoplastics in the Human Food Production Chain: Experiences from Nanotoxicology Bouwmeester, Hans; Hollman, Peter C. H.; Peters, Ruud J. B. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 49, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b01090	journal	July 2015
Predicting soil microplastic concentration using vis-NIR spectroscopy Corradini, Fabio; Bartholomeus, Harm; Huerta Lwanga, Esperanza Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 650 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.101	journal	February 2019
Microplastics as an emerging threat to terrestrial ecosystems de Souza Machado, Anderson Abel; Kloas, Werner; Zarfl, Christiane Global Change Biology, Vol. 24, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14020	journal	January 2018
Analysis of polyethylene microplastics in environmental samples, using a thermal decomposition method Dümichen, Erik; Barthel, Anne-Kathrin; Braun, Ulrike Water Research, Vol. 85 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2015.09.002	journal	November 2015
Evaluation of Probability Density Functions to Approximate Particle size Distributions of Representative Pharmaceutical Aerosols Dunbar, Craig A.; Hickey, Anthony J. Journal of Aerosol Science, Vol. 31, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-8502(99)00557-1	journal	July 2000
Microplastics increase impact of treated wastewater on freshwater microbial community Eckert, Ester M.; Di Cesare, Andrea; Kettner, Marie Therese Environmental Pollution, Vol. 234 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.11.070	journal	March 2018
The challenge in preparing particle suspensions for aquatic microplastic research Eitzen, Lars; Paul, Sophia; Braun, Ulrike Environmental Research, Vol. 168 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2018.09.008	journal	January 2019
Microparticles prepared by grinding of polymeric films Elkharraz, K.; Dashevsky, A.; Bodmeier, R. Journal of Microencapsulation, Vol. 20, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.3109/02652040309178354	journal	January 2003
The best mathematical models describing particle size distribution of soils Esmaeelnejad, Leila; Siavashi, Fatemeh; Seyedmohammadi, Javad Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, Vol. 2, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40808-016-0220-9	journal	September 2016
Modeling particle size distributions by the Weibull distribution function Fang, Zhigang; Patterson, Burton R.; Turner, Malcolm E. Materials Characterization, Vol. 31, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/1044-5803(93)90058-4	journal	October 1993
Current opinion: What is a nanoplastic? Gigault, Julien; Halle, Alexandra ter; Baudrimont, Magalie Environmental Pollution, Vol. 235 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.01.024	journal	April 2018
A First Pilot Study on the Sorption of Environmental Pollutants on Various Microplastic Materials Goedecke, Caroline; Stollin, Ulrike Mulow; Hering, Selina Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 04, Issue 01 https://doi.org/10.4172/2380-2391.1000191	journal	January 2017
Sorption properties of tylosin on four different microplastics Guo, Xuetao; Pang, Jingwen; Chen, Shouyi Chemosphere, Vol. 209 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.06.100	journal	October 2018
Are We Speaking the Same Language? Recommendations for a Definition and Categorization Framework for Plastic Debris Hartmann, Nanna B.; Hüffer, Thorsten; Thompson, Richard C. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 53, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b05297	journal	December 2018
Effect of diverse weathering conditions on the physicochemical properties of biodegradable plastic mulches Hayes, Douglas G.; Wadsworth, Larry C.; Sintim, Henry Y. Polymer Testing, Vol. 62 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2017.07.027	journal	September 2017
Microplastics in freshwater and terrestrial environments: Evaluating the current understanding to identify the knowledge gaps and future research priorities Horton, Alice A.; Walton, Alexander; Spurgeon, David J. Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 586 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.01.190	journal	May 2017
Incorporation of microplastics from litter into burrows of Lumbricus terrestris Huerta Lwanga, Esperanza; Gertsen, Hennie; Gooren, Harm Environmental Pollution, Vol. 220 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.09.096	journal	January 2017
Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean Jambeck, J. R.; Geyer, R.; Wilcox, C. Science, Vol. 347, Issue 6223 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1260352	journal	February 2015
Processing and properties of cryogenically milled post-consumer mixed plastic waste Jonna, Srinivas; Lyons, Jed Polymer Testing, Vol. 24, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2005.01.009	journal	June 2005
Polyethylene and biodegradable mulches for agricultural applications: a review Kasirajan, Subrahmaniyan; Ngouajio, Mathieu Agronomy for Sustainable Development, Vol. 32, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-011-0068-3	journal	January 2012
Plastic as a Carrier of POPs to Aquatic Organisms: A Model Analysis Koelmans, Albert A.; Besseling, Ellen; Wegner, Anna Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 47, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1021/es401169n	journal	June 2013
Marine microplastic: Preparation of relevant test materials for laboratory assessment of ecosystem impacts Kühn, Susanne; van Oyen, Albert; Booth, Andy M. Chemosphere, Vol. 213 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.09.032	journal	December 2018
Polystyrene microplastics induce gut microbiota dysbiosis and hepatic lipid metabolism disorder in mice Lu, Liang; Wan, Zhiqin; Luo, Ting Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 631-632 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.051	journal	August 2018
Microplastic is an Abundant and Distinct Microbial Habitat in an Urban River McCormick, Amanda; Hoellein, Timothy J.; Mason, Sherri A. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 48, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1021/es503610r	journal	October 2014
Suitability of Biodegradable Plastic Mulches for Organic and Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems Miles, Carol; DeVetter, Lisa; Ghimire, Shuresh HortScience, Vol. 52, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI11249-16	journal	January 2017
An overview of microplastic and nanoplastic pollution in agroecosystems Ng, Ee-Ling; Huerta Lwanga, Esperanza; Eldridge, Simon M. Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 627 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.341	journal	June 2018
Are Agricultural Soils Dumps for Microplastics of Urban Origin? Nizzetto, Luca; Futter, Martyn; Langaas, Sindre Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 50, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b04140	journal	September 2016
Environmental Factors Support the Formation of Specific Bacterial Assemblages on Microplastics Oberbeckmann, Sonja; Kreikemeyer, Bernd; Labrenz, Matthias Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol. 8 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.02709	journal	January 2018
Influence of plasticizers and cryogenic grinding on the high-cooling-rate solidification behavior of PBT/PET blends Poulose, Anesh Manjaly; Piccarolo, Stefano; Carbone, Domenico Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 133, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1002/app.43083	journal	November 2015
Wear-induced mechanical degradation of plastics by low-energy wet-grinding Ravishankar, Kartik; Ramesh, Praneeth Srivanth; Sadhasivam, Balaji Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 158 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2018.10.026	journal	December 2018
Attrition and Cryogenic milling powder production for Low Pressure Cold Gas Spray and composite coatings characterization Robotti, M.; Dosta, S.; Cano, I. G. Advanced Powder Technology, Vol. 27, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apt.2016.04.014	journal	July 2016
Preparation and Characterization of Fire Retardant Nano-Filler from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Fibers Saba, Naheed; Paridah, Tahir Md.; Abdan, Khalina BioResources, Vol. 10, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.15376/biores.10.3.4530-4543	journal	May 2015
Microplastics in Swiss Floodplain Soils Scheurer, Michael; Bigalke, Moritz Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 52, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b06003	journal	February 2018
Production of polymer particles below 5 μm by wet grinding Schmidt, Jochen; Plata, Miguel; Tröger, Sulay Powder Technology, Vol. 228 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2012.04.064	journal	September 2012
Production of PBT/PC particle systems by wet grinding Schmidt, Jochen; Romeis, Stefan; Peukert, Wolfgang PROCEEDINGS OF PPS-32: The 32nd International Conference of the Polymer Processing Society - Conference Papers, AIP Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5016720	conference	January 2017
NIH Image to ImageJ: 25 years of image analysis Schneider, Caroline A.; Rasband, Wayne S.; Eliceiri, Kevin W. Nature Methods, Vol. 9, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.2089	journal	June 2012
Modern estimation of the parameters of the Weibull wind speed distribution for wind energy analysis Seguro, J. V.; Lambert, T. W. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, Vol. 85, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-6105(99)00122-1	journal	March 2000
Plastic mulching in agriculture. Trading short-term agronomic benefits for long-term soil degradation? Steinmetz, Zacharias; Wollmann, Claudia; Schaefer, Miriam Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 550 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.153	journal	April 2016
Prediction of the pilot-scale recovery of a recombinant yeast enzyme using integrated models Varga, E. G.; Titchener-Hooker, N. J.; Dunnill, P. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Vol. 74, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.1099	journal	January 2001
Uptake and Effects of Microplastics on Cells and Tissue of the Blue Mussel Mytilus edulis L. after an Experimental Exposure von Moos, Nadia; Burkhardt-Holm, Patricia; Köhler, Angela Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 46, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1021/es302332w	journal	September 2012
Improvement of dissolution rate of poorly water-soluble drug by wet grinding with bio-compatible phospholipid polymer Watano, Satoru; Matsuo, Mika; Nakamura, Hideya Chemical Engineering Science, Vol. 125 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2014.09.010	journal	March 2015
Optimised technologies for cryogenic grinding Wilczek, Michael; Bertling, Jürgen; Hintemann, Damian International Journal of Mineral Processing, Vol. 74 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.minpro.2004.07.032	journal	December 2004
Plastic and Human Health: A Micro Issue? Wright, Stephanie L.; Kelly, Frank J. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 51, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b00423	journal	June 2017
Microplastics play a minor role in tetracycline sorption in the presence of dissolved organic matter Xu, Baile; Liu, Fei; Brookes, Philip C. Environmental Pollution, Vol. 240 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.04.113	journal	September 2018
Robustly Estimating Lower Percentiles When Observations Are Costly Young, Timothy M.; León, Ramón V.; Chen, Chung-Hao Quality Engineering, Vol. 27, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1080/08982112.2014.968667	journal	June 2015
Injectable sustained release PLA microparticles prepared by solvent evaporation-media milling technology Zhang, Yan; Fei, Siyang; Yu, Meiling Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy, Vol. 44, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1080/03639045.2018.1483382	journal	August 2018
Exposure of soil collembolans to microplastics perturbs their gut microbiota and alters their isotopic composition Zhu, Dong; Chen, Qing-Lin; An, Xin-Li Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 116 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2017.10.027	journal	January 2018
Sorption and desorption of phenanthrene on biodegradable poly(butylene adipate co-terephtalate) microplastics Zuo, Lin-Zi; Li, Heng-Xiang; Lin, Lang Chemosphere, Vol. 215 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.09.173	journal	January 2019

Linked Research (2)

Similar Records

Effects of soil particles and convective transport on dispersion and aggregation of nanoplastics via small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and ultra SANS (USANS)

Journal Article · Tue Jul 21 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · PLoS ONE · OSTI ID:1530063

Astner, Anton F.; Hayes, Douglas G.; Pingali, Sai Venkatesh; +4 more

Earthworms Exposed to Polyethylene and Biodegradable Microplastics in Soil: Microplastic Characterization and Microbial Community Analysis

Journal Article · Wed Apr 05 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · ACS Agricultural Science & Technology · OSTI ID:1530063

Adhikari, Kaushik; Astner, Anton F.; DeBruyn, Jennifer M.; +4 more

Facile nanoplastics formation from macro and microplastics in aqueous media

Journal Article · Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Environmental Pollution · OSTI ID:1530063

Peller, Julie R.; Mezyk, Stephen P.; Shidler, Sarah; +7 more

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
agricultural soils
low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
microplastics
33 nanoplastics
polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT)
terrestrial ecosystems

Data for: Novel Methodology to Form Micro- and Nano-Plastics from Agricultural Plastic Materials and their Dimensional, Thermal, and Chemical Characterization Hayes, Douglas https://doi.org/10.17632/mkk2yfpfbm.1 The current record is supplemented by this dataset	dataset	January 2019
Data for: Novel Methodology to Form Micro- and Nano-Plastics from Agricultural Plastic Materials and their Dimensional, Thermal, and Chemical Characterization Hayes, Douglas https://doi.org/10.17632/mkk2yfpfbm The current record is supplemented by this dataset	dataset	January 2019

Title: Mechanical formation of micro- and nano-plastic materials for environmental studies in agricultural ecosystems

Citation Formats

References (52)

Linked Research (2)

Similar Records

Related Subjects