engleski

Polyethylene terephthalate as a vector for priority pollutants in the water: Adsorption isotherms and aquatic toxicity evaluation

Microplastics are small particles that can cause adverse effects on digestive, muscular and nervous system. Priority pollutants such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals can adsorb to the surface of microplastics and thus enter the food and cause great problems for the environment. In nature they decompose to more toxic compound due to different physico-chemical properties. The aim of this work was to establish the correlation between the properties of MPs and the adsorption capacity for the investigated pollutants as well as toxicity effects on tested organisms. For that purpose, we investigated the interactions of pristine and UV- aged polyethylene terephthalate (PET) MPs with pesticide atrazine (ATZ) and pharmaceutical diclofenac (DCF). The concentration of pollutants was monitored by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography. Aquatic toxicity was assessed by exposing the MPs samples to green microalgae Selenastrum capricornutum (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata) according to the standard procedure ISO 8692:2012. The adsorption isotherms of ATZ and DCF on PET showed the best fit for the Langmuir model and that implies a monolayered adsorption process, and it was in general higher for aged than pristine MPs. Aquatic toxicity effects were enhanced in the case of UV-aged MPs, which is noticed as an increase in the dilution factor of such samples.

Microplastics ; Pesticides ; Pharmaceuticals ; Adsorption ; Toxicity

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