Implications of a New Test Facility for Fragmentation Investigations on Virgin (Micro)plastics

Littered plastics are partly introduced into water bodies, ultimately transporting this waste to the shores and oceans. At the shore, ultraviolet (UV) radiation (also present in other environmental compartments) and wave breaking cause plastics to degrade and fragment into smaller particles, called microplastics, if below 5 mm. Since these plastics’ surfaces can act as vectors for hydrophobic (toxic) chemical substances (e.g., per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)) and leach (toxic) chemicals into the water, the increase in the surface area through the fragmentation of plastics becomes relevant. Studies investigating different effects on the fragmentation of plastics have mostly disregarded a sufficient mechanical component for fragmentation, focusing on degradation by UV radiation. Therefore, this study investigated the impact of the mechanical fragmentation drivers, wave impact, and sediment abrasion on the fragmentation of expanded polystyrene (EPS), high-density polyethylene (PE-HD), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) particles. In a newly designed test facility called Slosh-Box, the mentioned impacts were investigated concurrently. The results reveal that the mechanical impacts alone are sufficient for plastic fragmentation, and the test facility is suitable for fragmentation investigations. Furthermore, the increase in surface area was determined via scanning electron microscopy. For EPS, the surface area increased more than 2370-fold, while for PE-HD and PET, surface areas increased between 1 and 8.6 times. Concluding from the results, the new test facility is suitable for plastic fragmentation studies. In addition, sediment was revealed to be a relevant fragmentation driver, which should be included in every experiment investigating the fragmentation of plastic in a nearshore environment independent of other drivers like UV radiation.