Quantitative methodology for poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) microplastic detection in soil and...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Polymer Science
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Biodegradable plastics like polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) are increasingly used in agriculture and food packaging.
• Assessing the environmental fate, specifically fragmentation and mineralization, of these plastics in soil and compost is crucial.
• Novel methodologies are required to accurately quantify PBAT microplastics in complex environmental matrices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel methodology for quantifying PBAT microplastics in soil.
• To determine if gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) is a suitable tool for this analysis.
• To assess the degradation and microplastic generation of PBAT films in an industrial compost environment.

Main Methods:

• Developed a PBAT soil extraction method utilizing ultrasonication.
• Quantified PBAT using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) after fatty acid methyl ester derivatization.
• Validated the method through an industrial compost degradation experiment, measuring PBAT film weight loss and microplastic generation.

Main Results:

• A novel, simple, affordable, and reproducible method for PBAT microplastic detection was established.
• The developed GCMS method demonstrated improved resolution by at least one order of magnitude compared to existing techniques.
• The industrial compost experiment confirmed the ability to trace PBAT over time, showing its complete consumption.

Conclusions:

• A highly sensitive and accurate method for detecting PBAT microplastics in soil has been successfully developed.
• The methodology provides a valuable tool for environmental monitoring of biodegradable plastic pollution.
• PBAT is effectively mineralized in industrial compost settings, indicating its environmental biodegradability.