Abstract
Household wastewaters contain microplastics and nanoplastics that end up in ecosystems because these pollutants are not filtered by current wastewater treatment plants. Therefore, there is a need for advanced removal technologies. Here, we tested the degradation of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles by photocatalysis with TiO2–P25/β-SiC foams under UV-A radiation. We studied the effect of flow rate, initial pH and light intensity. Results show that about 50% of the carbon of polymethylmethacrylate nanobeads are degraded in 7 h at an irradiance of 112 W/m2, a flow rate of 10 mL/min and an initial pH of 6.3. Degradation is faster at low pH (4–6) and low flow rate. 140-nm polystyrene degrades faster than 508-nm polystyrene.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ali SS, Qazi IA, Arshad M et al (2016) Photocatalytic degradation of low density polyethylene (LDPE) films using titania nanotubes. Environ NanotechnolMonitManag 5:44–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enmm.2016.01.001
Browne MA, Galloway T, Thompson R (2007) Microplastic an emerging contaminant of potential concern? Integr Environ Assess Manag 3:559–561
Carabin A, Drogui P, Robert D (2015) Photo-degradation of carbamazepine using TiO2 suspended photocatalysts. J Taiwan InstChemEng 54:109–117
Chen D, Ray AK (1998) Photo-degradation kinetics of 4-nitrophenol in TiO2 suspension. Water Res 32:3223–3234
Cole M, Lindeque P, Halsband C, Galloway TS (2011) Microplastics as contaminants in the marine environment: a review. Mar Pollut Bull 62:2588
DinoopLal S, Sunil Jose T, Rajesh C (2019) Solid-phase photodegradation of polystyrene by nano TiO2 under ultraviolet radiation. Environ NanotechnolMonitManag 12:100229
European Commission (2017). Intentionally added microplastics in products. Doc Ref. 39168 Final Report
Gregory MR (1996) Plastic ‘scrubbers’ in hand-cleansers: a further (and minor) source for marine pollution identified. Mar Pollut Bull 32:867–871
Horikoshi H, Serpone N, Hisamatsu Y, Hisamatsu H (1998) Photocatalyzed Degradation of Polymers in Aqueous Semiconductor Suspensions. 3. Photooxidation of a Solid Polymer: TiO2-Blended Poly(vinyl chloride). Film A Environ SciTechnol 32:4010–4016
Kouamé AN, Masson R, Robert D, Keller N, Keller V (2013) β-SiC foams as a promising structured photocatalytic support for water and air detoxification. Catal Today 209:13–20
Marien CBD, Le Pivert M, Azaïs A, M’Bra IC, Drogui P, Dirany A, Robert D (2019) Kinetics and mechanism of Paraquat’s degradation: UV-C photolysis versus UV-C photocatalysis with TiO2/SiC foams. J Haz Mat 370:164
M'Bra IC, García-Muñoz P, Drogui P, Keller N, Trokourey A, Robert D (2019) Heterogeneous photodegradation of Pyrimethanil and its commercial formulation with TiO2 immobilized on SiC foams. J PhotochemPhotobio 368:1–6
Moore CJ (2008) Synthetic polymers in the marine environment: a rapidly increasing, long-term threat. Environ Res 108:131–139
Murphy F, Ewins C, Carbonnier F, Quinn B (2016) Wastewater treatment works (WwTW) as a source of microplastics in the aquatic environment. Environ SciTechnol 11:5800
Naqash N, Prakash S, Kapoor D et al (2020) Interaction of freshwater microplastics with biota and heavy metals: a review. Environ ChemLett. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-01044-3
Nelms SE, Barnett J, Brownlow A, Davison NJ, Deaville R, Galloway TS, Lindeque PK, Santillo D, Godley BJ (2019) Microplastics in marine mammals stranded around the British Coast: ubiquitous but transitory? Sci Rep 9:1–8
Ollis DF (2018) Kinetics of photocatalyzed reactions: five lessons learned. Front Chem 6:378. https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2018.00378
Padervand M, Lichtfouse E, Robert D, Wang C (2020) Removal of microplastics from the environment: a review. Environ ChemLett. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-00983-1
Rico-Santacruz M, García-Muñoz P, Marchal C, Batail N, Pham C, Robert D, Keller N (2020) Coating-free TiO2@β-SiC alveolar foams as a ready-to-use composite photocatalyst with tunable adsorption properties for water treatment. RSC Adv 10:3817–3825
SAM (2018). ‘Microplastic Pollution: The Policy Context—Background Paper’, The Scientific Advice Mechanism Unit of the European Commission, 68 p. web version
Shang J, Chai M, Zhu Y (2003) Photocatalytic degradation of polystyrene plastic under fluorescent light. J Am ChemSoc 37:4494–4499. https://doi.org/10.1021/es020
Talvitie J, Heinonen M, Pääkkönen JP (2015) Do wastewater treatment plants act as a potential point source of microplastics? Preliminary study in the coastal Gulf of Finland. Baltic Sea Water SciTechnol 72:1495
Tofa TS, Kunjali KL, Paul S et al (2019) Visible light photocatalytic degradation of microplastic residues with zinc oxide nanorods. Environ ChemLett 17:1341–1346
Vinu R, Madras G (2008) Photocatalytic degradation of methyl methacrylate copolymers. PolymDegrad Stab 93:1440–1449
Vesilend PA (ed) (2003) Wastewater treatment plant design. Water Environment Federation, Virginia, USA
Wang L, Kaeppler A, Fischer D, Simmchen J (2019a) Photocatalytic TiO2micromotors for removal of microplastics and suspended matter. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 11(36):32937–32944
Wang Z, Qin Y, Li W, Yang W, Meng Q, Yang J (2019b) Microplastic contamination in freshwater: first observation in Lake Ulansuhai, Yellow River Basin, China. Environ ChemLett 17:1821–1830. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-019-00888-8
Acknowledgements
The authors of this article thank Campus France for the Grant awarded to Paul Henri Alle.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Allé, P.H., Garcia-Muñoz, P., Adouby, K. et al. Efficient photocatalytic mineralization of polymethylmethacrylate and polystyrene nanoplastics by TiO2/β-SiC alveolar foams. Environ Chem Lett 19, 1803–1808 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-01099-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-01099-2