Remediation of Microplastics

Abstract

28 Microplastics (MPs) are plastic particles of ≤5 mm with a ubiquitous presence in 29 aquatic ecosystems. MPs harm marine life and can cause severe health 30 problems for humans. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) that involve the 31 in-situ generation of highly oxidant hydroxyl radicals can be an alternative to 32 fight MPs pollution. Of all the AOPs, photocatalysis has been proven a clean 33 technology to overcome microplastic pollution. In this work, we propose novel 34 C,N-TiO 2 /SiO 2 photocatalysts with proper visible-active properties to degrade 35 polyethylene terephthalate (PET) MPs. Photocatalysis was performed in an 36 aqueous medium and at room temperature, evaluating the influence of two pH 37 values (pH 6 and 8). The obtained results demonstrated the degradation of the 38 PET MPs by C,N-TiO 2 /SiO 2 semiconductors and achieved mass loss between 39 9.35 and 16.22%, carbonyl indexes up to 28.7% lower, and a significant 40 decrease in crystallinity compared to the original PET MPs. 41