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The aging behavior of degradable plastic polylactic acid under the interaction of environmental factors

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Abstract

Microplastics leaching from aging biodegradable plastics pose potential environmental threats. This study used response surface methodology (RSM) to investigate the impact of temperature, light, and humidity on the aging characteristics of polylactic acid (PLA). Key evaluation metrics included the C/O ratio, functional groups, crystallinity, surface topography, and mechanical properties. Humidity was discovered to have the greatest effect on the ageing of PLA, followed by light and temperature. The interactions between temperature and light, as well as humidity and sunlight, significantly impact the aging of PLA. XPS analysis revealed PLA underwent aging due to the cleavage of the ester bond (O–C=O), resulting in the addition of C=O and C–O. The aging process of PLA was characterized by alterations in surface morphology and augmentation in crystallinity, resulting in a decline in both tensile strength and elongation. These findings might offer insights into the aging behavior of degradable plastics under diverse environmental conditions.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express special thanks to the National Engineering Research Center for Inland Waterway Regulation for providing experimental conditions. And the financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China, Technological Innovation and Application Development, and Chongqing Education Commission, and Open Fund of Key Laboratory of Hydraulic and Waterway Engineering of the Ministry of Education are gratefully acknowledged.

Funding

Special Key Program for Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 52000018), Technological Innovation and Application Development in Chongqing (CSTB2022TIAD-KPX0133, CSTB2022TIAD-KPX0198), the Joint Key Program of Science and Technology Project between Chongqing Science and Technology Bureau and Chongqing Water Resources Bureau (CQSLK-2022001), and Major Science and Technology Program of the Ministry of Water Resources (SKS-2022076), Chongqing Education Commission Foundation (KJZD-K202103801, KJQN-202000745).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Hydraulic and Waterway Engineering of the Ministry of Education, School of River and Ocean Engineering, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing, 400074, China

    Hui Jiang, Yiqun Wang, Jiaoxia Sun, Yufeng Mao, Sisi Que, Yuanyuan Huang & Xiaoling Lei

  2. Chongqing Engineering Laboratory of Environmental Hydraulic Engineering, Chongqing Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing, 400074, China

    Hui Jiang, Yiqun Wang, Jiaoxia Sun, Yufeng Mao & Sisi Que

  3. Chongqing Water Resources and Electric Engineering College, Chongqing, 402160, China

    Yulian Lin

  4. Chongqing Academy of Science and Technology, Chongqing, 401121, China

    Yuanyuan Huang & Xiaoling Lei

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  1. Hui Jiang
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Contributions

Jiang Hui: Made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, and manuscript preparation; Yiqun Wang: Participate in experiments and data analysis; Yuanyuan Huang, Yufeng Mao: Contributed significantly to data analysis; Sisi Que, Yulian Lin: Helped perform the analysis with constructive discussions; Xiaoling Lei and Yuanyuan Huang: Participate in experiments and data analysis, Manuscript submission.

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Correspondence to Yuanyuan Huang or Xiaoling Lei.

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Jiang, H., Wang, Y., Sun, J. et al. The aging behavior of degradable plastic polylactic acid under the interaction of environmental factors. Environ Geochem Health 46, 163 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-024-01932-5

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