Magnetic Extraction of Weathered Tire Wear Particles and Polyethylene Microplastics.

Magnetic extraction offers a rapid and low-cost solution to microplastic (MP) separation, in which we magnetize the hydrophobic surface of MPs to separate them from complex environmental matrices using magnets. We synthesized a hydrophobic Fe-silane based nanocomposite (Fe@SiO/MDOS) to separate MPs from freshwater. Pristine and weathered, polyethylene (PE) and tire wear particles (TWP) of different sizes were used in the study.

Synergistic Adsorption of Organic Pollutants on Weathered Polyethylene Microplastics.

Microplastics (MPs) are persistent tiny pieces of plastic material in the environment that are capable of adsorbing environmental organic pollutants from their surroundings. The interaction of MPs with organic pollutants alters their environmental behavior, i.e.

Integral analysis of hydrodynamic cavitation effects on waste activated sludge characteristics, potentially toxic metals, microorganisms and identification of microplastics.

Wastewater treatment plants, the last barrier between ever-increasing human activities and the environment, produce huge amounts, of unwanted semi-solid by-product - waste activated sludge. Anaerobic digestion can be used to reduce the amount of sludge. However, the process needs extensive modernisation and refinement to realize its full potential.

Plastic bag and facial cleanser derived microplastic do not affect feeding behaviour and energy reserves of terrestrial isopods.

Current data regarding the effects of microplastic (MP) on terrestrial organisms are very scarce. Isopods play an important role in plant litter decomposition processes and are commonly used test species in terrestrial ecotoxicity studies. Their altered feeding behaviour and energy reserves are established biomarkers of adverse effects upon stressor exposure.

Microplastics as a vector for the transport of the bacterial fish pathogen species Aeromonas salmonicida.

Microplastics is widespread in the marine environment where it can cause numerous negative effects. It can provide space for the growth of organisms and serves as a vector for the long distance transfer of marine microorganisms. In this study, we examined the sea surface concentrations of microplastics in the North Adriatic and characterized bacterial communities living on the microplastics.

Protocol for Microplastics Sampling on the Sea Surface and Sample Analysis.

Microplastic pollution in the marine environment is a scientific topic that has received increasing attention over the last decade. The majority of scientific publications address microplastic pollution of the sea surface. The protocol below describes the methodology for sampling, sample preparation, separation and chemical identification of microplastic particles.

Uptake and effects of microplastic textile fibers on freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna.

Microplastic fibers (MP) from textile weathering and washing are increasingly being recognized as environmental pollutants. The majority of studies on the bioavailability and effects of microplastic focused on small polystyrene spherical plastic particles, while less data are available for fibers and for other materials besides polystyrene. We investigated the ingestion and effects of ground polyethylene terephthalate (PET) textile microfibers (length range: 62-1400 μm, width 31-528 μm, thickness 1-21.

Sea surface microplastics in Slovenian part of the Northern Adriatic.

Plastics are the most common material of marine litter and have become a global pollution concern. They are persistent in the environment where they gradually degrade into increasingly smaller particles-microplastics (MP). Our study presents results of sea-surface monitoring for MP in the Slovenian part of the Trieste Bay in the Northern Adriatic Sea.

Synthesis of Dendronized Poly(l-Glutamate) via Azide-Alkyne Click Chemistry.

Poly(l-glutamate) (PGlu) was modified with a second-generation dendron to obtain the dendronized polyglutamate, P(Glu-D). Synthesized P(Glu-D) exhibited a degree of polymerization (DP) of 46 and a 43% degree of dendronization. Perfect agreement was found between the P(Glu-D) expected structure and the results of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and size-exclusion chromatography coupled to a multi-angle light-scattering detector (SEC-MALS) analysis.

Liquefied Wood as Inexpensive Precursor-Feedstock for Bio-Mediated Incorporation of ()-3-Hydroxyvalerate into Polyhydroxyalkanoates.

Liquefied wood (LW) prepared in a microwave process was applied as a novel; inexpensive precursor feedstock for incorporation of ()-3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) into polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biopolyesters in order to improve the biopolyester's material quality; was applied as microbial production strain. For proof of concept, pre-experiments were carried out on a shake flask scale using different mixtures of glucose and LW as carbon source. The results indicate that LW definitely acts as a 3HV precursor, but, at the same time, displays toxic effects on at concentrations exceeding 10 g/L.

Determination of the interactions between Zn2+ and water soluble polymer ligands with potential use in controlled drug delivery.

Biodegradable copolymers of aspartic and lactic acids were synthesized for potential use in controlled drug release. The proportion of aspartic acid moieties in the copolymers was 0.9 and 0.

Atomic volume as a descriptor for carbon electronic structure and stability.

Electron density at the carbon atom is a significant factor determining the stability of molecules, but it is difficult to quantify. Using the Atoms in Molecules (AIM) quantum theory, we calculated the atomic charges and volumes of carbon atoms in highly oxidized compounds. The two parameters are shown to be good quantitative descriptors of electron depletion and can be used as an indicator for stability/reactivity of such compounds.

Microwave driven wood liquefaction with glycols.

Wood liquefaction with glycols using p-toluenesulfonic acid as the catalyst was carried out under microwave heating. With rapid heating and temperatures in the 190-210 degrees C range complete liquefaction was achieved in 7 min. Liquefaction efficiency was dependent on the choice of glycol.

Microwave catalysis through rotationally hot reactive species.

In this contribution we propose a novel physical mechanism for microwave catalysis based on rotationally excited reactive species and verify its validity through a computer simulation of a realistic chemical reaction-neutral ester hydrolysis. This nonequilibrium system is formally described by introducing rotational temperature, which is higher than the translational temperature. A Born-Oppenheimer surface was constructed on the density functional theory level and applied to a modified Monte Carlo scheme.

Ability of fungi to degrade synthetic polymer nylon-6.

Fifty-eight fungi have been tested for their ability to degrade a recalcitrant synthetic polymer polyamide-6, generally known as nylon-6. Most of them were isolated from a factory producing nylon-6. After preliminary screening, 12 strains were selected for submerged culture in a medium with nylon fibres as the only N-source.

Sequence distribution in microbial poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) co-polyesters determined by NMR and MS.

The microstructure of bacterial poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) copolyesters (PHBV) as well as a mixture of two PHBV copolyesters of different comonomer composition and sequence distribution was studied by 13C NMR based on dyad and triad analysis and multistage electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MSn). Both techniques gave results that were in good agreement for all investigated samples. The effect of microstructure on PHBV thermal properties was investigated from the melting behavior of samples.

SEC-MALS characterization of microbial polyhydroxyalkanoates.

Characterization of poly-3-hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) and poly-3-hydroxybutyric-co-valeric acid (PHBV, 13% valerate) in chloroform was performed using size exclusion chromatography coupled to a multi-angle light scattering detector (SEC-MALS). Absolute molar mass averages, molar mass distribution, and the radius of gyration were determined. Three sample preparation methods were examined: dissolution in chloroform (1) at room temperature, (2) at 60 degrees C, and (3) after thermal pretreatment of samples (annealing at 180 degrees C with subsequent quenching in liquid nitrogen).