Symphony Hails US EPA Report On Pro-oxidants
Key Highlights:
- The use of pro-oxidant masterbatch in plastic production could greatly diminish the persistence of plastic pollution, offering a potential solution to the issue of microplastic accumulation.
- Symphony responded to a statement from the US Environmental Protection Agency, highlighting the importance of adopting d2w technology to prevent plastic pollution.
- Research conducted on the blending of plastics with pro-oxidants demonstrated accelerated photooxidation and degradation of polypropylene (PP) materials, resulting in smaller ecological footprints.
Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc. commented on this important statement from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Symphony’s CEO Michael Laurier said: “It seems that everyone is now realising, all around the world, that making the plastic with d2w technology is the way to prevent plastic in the environment from creating microplastics and accumulating there for decades.
The EPA statement says:
“Accelerating Polymer Degradation using Pro-oxidants”
“Single use plastics that are commonly used for packaging and service ware, such as bottles, bags, straws, and wrappers result in land and marine pollution as they break down into microplastics. Blending plastics with pro-oxidants could be a promising solution, as they accelerate photooxidation to obtain degradable materials whose final ecological and physical footprint are much smaller.
“In this study, two pro-oxidants, iron stearate (FeSt3) and cobalt stearate (CoSt2), were melt-blended with polypropylene (PP) at concentrations of 1 and 2 wt%. Plates of neat and pro-oxidant filled PP were kept in an accelerated weathering chamber that simulates damaging effects of long-term outdoor exposure. Samples were taken out from the test chamber and their properties were measured at selected time interval as they undergo photochemical degradation.
“Physical, thermal, and chemical properties of pristine and pro-oxidant filled samples were measured, using TGA, differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transfer IR spectroscopy (FTIR). Within 300 h of aging in the chamber, PP with pro-oxidants were embrittled, cracked and broken into pieces. After 500 h of aging plastics plates showed significant reduction in melting and re-crystallisation points - indicating polymer-chain breaking, rapid depolymerisation.
“Uv-Vis and GC-mass spectroscopic analysis of wash-water samples indicated water soluble degradation products are potently biodegradable and can be assimilated by microorganisms. The study offers a successful approach where benign filler could significantly reduce the persistence of plastic pollution without creating undesired by-products.”