By Rachel Fioret, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Woolwich Observer
The tiny size of microplastics and nanoplastics allows them to spread across and within the environment, leaving evidence in water systems and even in humans, according to University of Waterloo researchers.
Microplastics are small pieces of plastic, less than 5 mm in length. Nanoplastics are even smaller, less than one micron in size, making them impossible to see with the human eye.
They pose an increasing health threat, and many experts are actively working to better understand this form of plastic pollution.
University of Waterloo researchers are collaborating with the National Research Council (NRC) to study the degradation of micro and nanoplastics through 3D imaging technology.
This is a huge advancement compared to the traditional 2D microscopy, where researchers worked with a two-dimensional view of the subject, which lacks the depth they need to understand the degradation process.
The 3D imaging has provided much more detail into how these plastics degrade, giving researchers more information to work with.
Bill Anderson, a researcher and professor at the University of Waterloo, explained the 3D imaging used was called electron tomography, which uses a beam of electrons to create a CAT scan-like image.
“It can image microscopic materials and penetrate their depths so that we can see what’s happening deeper in the interior than other microscopy methods can achieve,” said Anderson, who teaches in the Chemical Engineering Department.
His motivation to begin this research was to look “at ways to capture and degrade microplastics to reduce their presence and potential impact in the environment,” Anderson explained.
“One degradation method is based on using UV light to degrade the particles, and this is what the 3D imaging helped us to understand,” he added.
Photocatalytic degradation combines ultraviolet light with photocatalyst to degrade plastic particles. It is an environmentally-friendly approach to plastic degradation.
Anderson noted that the researchers are also trying to use bacterial degradation to convert microplastics into other sustainable materials for re-use.
He added that what he finds the most interesting is “the broad range of different types of microplastics is challenging, and each type probably has its own unique treatment mechanisms.”
While the 3D imaging study has helped researchers get a better understanding, far more research will be required moving forward.
“The scientific understanding of impacts is only starting to build, so it’s hard to say conclusively what the impacts or risks might be. How microplastics are formed from plastic wastes in the environment is somewhat uncertain, too, and the subject of ongoing work by us and many others,” Anderson told The Observer.
It will take time, however.
“The plastics waste and microplastics issues are very difficult problems to address, and require comprehensive approaches that include a wide variety of stakeholders.”
Anderson emphasized the importance of a multidisciplinary group to tackle the large problem.
Until more certain research is found, Anderson noted that the proper disposal, containment, or recycling of plastic wastes is important, and we should focus on keeping plastics out of the environment to help reduce the generation of microplastics.
The findings of the research thus far have shown the changes to micro- and nanoplastic particles during photocatalytic degradation.
The researchers are optimistic about the future of this research, and mention in their study that this approach can be useful in the future study of nanoplastic degradation.
You can find Anderson’s collaborative study published in IOPSCIENCE: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6528/ad5dc5.
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