Comparing environmental fate and ecotoxicity of conventional and biodegradable plastics: A critical review.

Autor: Cao Z; Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea., Kim C; Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea., Li Z; Marine College, Shandong University, Weihai, Shandong 264209, China., Jung J; Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jjung@korea.ac.kr.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2024 Nov 15; Vol. 951, pp. 175735. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 24.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175735
Abstrakt: Plastic pollution is a consequential problem worldwide, prompting the widespread use of biodegradable plastics (BPs). However, not all BPs are completely degradable under natural conditions, but instead produce biodegradable microplastics (BMPs), release chemical additives, and absorb micropollutants, thus causing toxicity to living organisms in similar manners to conventional plastics (CPs). The new problems caused by biodegradable plastics cannot be ignored and requires a thorough comparison of the differences between conventional and biodegradable plastics and microplastics. This review comprehensively compares their environmental fates, such as biodegradation and micropollutant sorption, and ecotoxicity in soil and water environments. The results showed that it is difficult to determine the natural conditions required for the complete biodegradation of BPs. Some chemical additives in BPs differ from those in CPs and may pose new threats to ecosystems. Because of functional group differences, most BMPs had higher micropollutant sorption capacities than conventional microplastics (CMPs). The ecotoxicity comparison showed that BMPs had similar or even greater adverse effects than CMPs. This review highlights several knowledge gaps in this new field and suggests directions for future studies.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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