Acronym ARPA-ACUA
Category
Marine Biotechnology
Title Eco-friendly alternatives for polymers and their chemical additives in aquatic environments Programme National Programme
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National
Coordinator institution
UVIGO - University of Vigo (Spain)
Institutions involved
AIMPLAS - Technological Institute of Plastics (Spain) ,
UDC - University of A Coruña (Spain) ,
Start year 2016 End year 2019 Funding (€) € 142,780 Website https://www.aimplas.net/developed-projects/eco-friendly-alternatives-for-polymers-and-their-chemical-additives-in-aquatic-environments/ Summary Plastics are synthetic polymers extremely useful in all fields of human activities so that its global production has now reached 300 million tons per year, of which a good part finds its final destination in aquatic ecosystems. Conventional plastics such as polyethylene (pe), polypropylene (pp), polyvinyl chloride (pvc) or polyethylene terephthalate (pet) are nondegradable, therefore persist for decades in the environment, fragmenting into microplastics that can act as vectors incorporating adsorbed hydrophobic organic pollutants into the organisms that ingest them. Furthermore, although these polymers are completely harmless, plastic objects carry in its composition to confer them the desired properties hundreds of different chemical additives (plasticizers, flame retardants, impact modifiers, stabilizers against ultraviolet radiation and microorganisms, etc.) , some of which present controversy because of their toxic effects on organisms and especially on the endocrine system. These additives are not covalently linked to the polymer chains and leach into the aquatic environment easily during the aging processes of plastic subject to environmental conditions after dumping in water.
The arpa-acua project aims to contribute to the selection of environmentally friendly alternatives regarding the chemical composition and biodegradability of such polymers in order to minimize the environmental impact of these materials and minimize potential adverse effects on the environment and health. With that aim, partners with long experience in the field will evaluate the chemical behavior, including detection of not directed analytes (qanap-udc) and ecotoxicological properties (ecotox-uvigo) of polymeric materials made ad hoc for this project by the technological partner (aimplas). Therefore, the project combines ecotoxicology, environmental chemistry and materials science by nesting the three disciplines in each of its experimental tasks, with the dual purpose of, on the one hand, select additives with properties of plasticizers, flame retardants, uv filters and antimicrobial agents useful for industry presenting a lesser impact on the aquatic environment according to ecotoxicological tests with sensitive marine organisms, and on the other hand, conduct an a priori environmental risk assessment of alternative bioplastics with lower persistence and toxicity.
The project results will confer competitive advantages to the spanish plastics industry considering the growing global demand for these new types of environmentally friendly plastics.
Keywords
Biopolymer;
Biomaterial;
Risk assessment;
Bioprospecting;
Marine Region
76
Not associated to marine areas
0
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