Quantification of polystyrene plastics degradation using ¹⁴C isotope tracer technique

¹⁴C-isotope tracer technique is an effective tool for quantitative analysis of compounds. Based on its unique ¹⁴C signal, ¹⁴C-isotope tracer has been widely used in degradation of pollutants, especially in a complex environmental matrix. In this chapter, we introduce methods and examples for studying the degradation of polystyrene (PS) plastics using the ¹⁴C-isotope tracer technique. ¹⁴C-based gel permeation chromatography (GPC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as well as liquid scintillation counter (LSC) are introduced for analyzing changes in the molecular weight of plastic polymers, generation of hydrophilic products, and complete mineralization of plastics during microbial and UV-induced degradation. With the ¹⁴C-isotope tracer technique, further studies on mechanisms for degradation of plastics/microplastics under complex natural environment conditions could be facilitated.