(146c) Characterizing microplastic degradation: Traditional and novel techniques for analyzing plastics and their degradation compounds in simulated marine environments

As more plastic materials accumulate in the ocean, there is a growing concern for their impacts on marine ecology and human beings. This study focuses on identifying and developing characterization methods that can be used to investigate the degradation mechanisms of plastics typically found floating on the ocean surface in order to help predict their fate and assess the hazards of microplastics. Unprocessed plastic pellets (polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene) and consumer drinking straw pieces (non-biodegradable straws and compostable straws) were placed in simulated seawater and examined under different weathering conditions for 10 weeks. The effects of ultraviolet light and physical mixing on the rate of degradation using a variety of characterization methods were explored . A new protocol was developed to extract organic degradation products to be analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Key insights on this method will be shared. This presentation will also include analysis of traditional characterization techniques including attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) of the plastics pieces, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of texture of the plastic surfaces, and particle size distributions of microplastics in the simulated seawater.