Project Info

Modeling Nanoplastics and Polymer Separations Using COMSOL Multiphysics

Kim Williams | krwillia@mines.edu

The global total of plastic waste is estimated to be 6300 million tons, the majority of which has been generated since 1950. [1] Plastic debris has been shown to fracture into micro (< 5000 μm) sized particles and fibers that migrate into the food chain and consumer products. [2–7] For many years it has been assumed that plastics may further degrade into nano (< 0.1 μm) scale materials, however, without suitable standards and characterization methods there has been little progress in this area of research. [2,4] It was only recently that a study has shown that microplastics may further photodegrade into nano-scale materials.[8]
A major challenge to studying the effects of micro and nanoplastic pollution on the environment and the food chain is the inability to separate them from everything else in the sample. This project will focus on the development of analytical methods, particularly field-flow fractionation (FFF) techniques, [9,10] to help address the nanoplastics challenge. Specifically, COMSOL multiphysics will be used to design new separation channels that can effectively differentiate nanoplastics of different sizes (and composition).

For more information:
(1) Ng, E. L.; Huerta Lwanga, E.; Eldridge, S. M.; Johnston, P.; Hu, H. W.; Geissen, V.; Chen, D. An Overview of Microplastic and Nanoplastic Pollution in Agroecosystems. Sci. Total Environ. 2018, 627, 1377–1388.
(2) Panel, E.; Chain, F. Presence of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Food, with Particular Focus on Seafood. EFSA J. 2016, 14 (6).
(3) Yang, D.; Shi, H.; Li, L.; Li, J.; Jabeen, K.; Kolandhasamy, P. Microplastic Pollution in Table Salts from China. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2015, 49 (22), 13622–13627.
(4) Bouwmeester, H.; Hollman, P. C. H.; Peters, R. J. B. Potential Health Impact of Environmentally Released Micro- and Nanoplastics in the Human Food Production Chain: Experiences from Nanotoxicology. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2015, 49 (15), 8932–8947.
(5) Remy, F.; Collard, F.; Gilbert, B.; Compère, P.; Eppe, G.; Lepoint, G. When Microplastic Is Not Plastic: The Ingestion of Artificial Cellulose Fibers by Macrofauna Living in Seagrass Macrophytodetritus. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2015, 49 (18), 11158–11166.
(6) Duis, K.; Coors, A. Microplastics in the Aquatic and Terrestrial Environment: Sources (with a Specific Focus on Personal Care Products), Fate and Effects. Environ. Sci. Eur. 2016, 28 (1), 1–25.
(7) Webb, H. K.; Arnott, J.; Crawford, R. J.; Ivanova, E. P. Plastic Degradation and Its Environmental Implications with Special Reference to Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate). Polymers (Basel). 2013, 5 (1), 1–18.
(8) Gigault, J.; Pedrono, B.; Maxit, B.; Ter Halle, A. Marine Plastic Litter: The Unanalyzed Nano-Fraction. Environ. Sci. Nano 2016, 3 (2), 346–350.
(9) Williams, S. K. R.; Runyon, J. R.; Ashames, A. A. Field-Flow Fractionation: Addressing the Nano Challenge. Anal. Chem. 2011, 83 (3), 634–642.
(10) Correia, M.; Loeschner, K. Detection of Nanoplastics in Food by Asymmetric Flow Field-Flow Fractionation Coupled to Multi-angle light scattering: Possibilities and Analytical limitations. Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 2018, 410 (22), 5603-5615

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