Losses and emissions in polypropylene recycling from household packaging waste.

In this study we replicated a typical high-quality post-consumer polypropylene (PP) recycling process to investigate its losses and emissions and study potential improvements. To our knowledge this is the first time that quantitative measurements on all process steps have been performed instead of an accumulated yield and emissions in water. In the process an overall PP yield of 85 wt% based on pure PP input is achieved.

Man-made natural and regenerated cellulosic fibres greatly outnumber microplastic fibres in the atmosphere.

Atmospheric microplastics have been widely reported in studies around the world. Microfibres are often the dominant morphology found by researchers, although synthetic (i.e.

First comparison of sampler surface areas for atmospheric microfibre deposition.

Recent studies have reported on the widespread abundance of atmospheric microplastics (At-MPs) and atmospheric anthropogenic microfibres (At-AMFs) in urban and remote locations. This study sought to test whether there were differences in the quantity of deposited At-AMFs collected when comparing three different surface sampler areas (small: 0.0113 m (Φ = 120 mm), medium: 0.

A Simple Sample Preparation Method to Significantly Improve Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectra of Microplastics.

Spectroscopic analysis has become an essential part of the rapidly growing field of microplastic (MP) research. Here, we introduce a simple sample preparation method that dramatically improves results from Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis of MP and other environmental fibers. Our method provides cost-effective, reliable, high-quality spectra that achieve high-matching scores to polymer libraries.

Projected plastic waste loss scenarios between 2000 and 2030 into the largest freshwater-lake system in Southeast Asia.

Freshwater plastic pollution is critically understudied in Southeast Asia (SEA). Recent modelling studies indicate that SEA rivers contribute vast quantities of plastic to the world's oceans, however, these fail to capture the complexity of individual systems. We determine the volume of mismanaged plastic waste (MPW) entering Tonle Sap Basin (TSB)-the largest freshwater lake-river system in SEA, between 2000 and 2030.