INVESTIGATION OF THE INTERACTION OF ORGANICS WITH PRISTINE AND AGED POLYETHYLENE: THE CASE FOR PHENOL, TRICHLOROPHENOL, AND TETRACHLOROETHANE

Date

2024-3-15

Author

Çiftçi, Gökçe

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Microplastics, plastic particles under 5 mm in diameter, are widespread and may act as carriers for contaminants in the environment. This study aims to enhance our understanding of the sorption behavior of selected organics—phenol, 2,3,6- trichlorophenol (TCP), and 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (PCA)—on pristine and UV-aged polyethylene (PE) microplastics. The main part of the experiments was conducted with the latter two compounds due to lack of affinity of phenol for PE. Results underscore the complex interplay between chemical properties, microplastic attributes, and environmental conditions in determining sorption capacity. Hydrophobic interactions were found to be a key sorption mechanism, influencing sorption among PE polymers and model contaminants. The findings showed that, the rate of sorption for high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was much slower than low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Phenol, recognized for its hydrophilicity, showed no affinity for pristine PE, while 23% removal was observed with aged PE. TCP showed notable concentration-dependent affinity for both pristine and UV-aged PE, with polyethylene-water partition coefficients (Kpe_w) ranging between 11-83 L/kg. In contrast, the affinity of PCA was independent of concentration for both pristine and UV-aged PE, with Kpe_w values between 31-179 L/kg. Results indicate the effect of pH, water type, particle size, and S/L vary with the sorbate. The presence of humic matter increased the sorption of TCP onto both HDPE and LDPE, with a slight decrease observed in freshwater and a slight increase in seawater for neutral TCP and PCA. Overall, UV-aging increases sorption regardless of the sorbate, which raises concerns about sorption in the environment.

Subject Keywords

Sorption, Microplastic, Organic Pollutant, Aging, Mechanism, Sorpsiyon, Mikroplastik, Organik Kirletici, Yaşlandırma, Mekanizma

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/109433

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Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis