Sources, Aging, and Management of Coastal Plastics in Shanghai

• Published in: Water, air, and soil pollution Vol. 233; no. 11
• Main Authors: Chen, Shuai, Lin, Donghai, Gao, Guilan, Guan, Jie, Belver, Carolina, Bedia, Jorge
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.11.2022; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adsorption; Ageing; Aging; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Carbonyl compounds; Carbonyls; Climate change; Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts; Coastal management; Coasts; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Environmental monitoring; Estuaries; Fishing; Functional groups; Hazardous materials; Heat resistance; Hydrogeology; Microscopy; Organic matter; Oxidation; Plastic pollution; Plastics; Plastics industry; Polyethylene; Polyethylenes; Polystyrene; Polystyrene resins; Polyvinyl chloride; Ports; Rivers; Seawater; Sediments; Soil Science & Conservation; Water Quality/Water Pollution; Coastal plastics; Foam plastics; Plastic sources; Plastic aging
• ISSN: 0049-6979; 1573-2932
• DOI: 10.1007/s11270-022-05914-0

To investigate the plastic sources and aging, the number and weight ratios of 4 main plastic categories, namely hard plastics, membranous plastics, fibrous plastics, and foam plastics in the Shanghai coast were determined. Aging of polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, and polystyrene includes the appearance of scratches and damage and even the forming of cracks and micropores. Composite packaging plastics were cracked from the external surface. Aging plastics showed new bands at around 1700 cm −1 for carbonyl functional groups, and 1000 cm −1 for C–O bonds, indicating the surface oxidation and adsorption of organic matter. The number of foam plastics was the highest among the different types of plastics, probably due to their lowest density. The sources of foam plastics varied because they are used in both the daily life of the city resident and ocean fishing and farming. This study provides scientific data for the management of Shanghai marine plastics.