Microplastics are ubiquitous in our environment and even our bodies, but thankfully, researchers have developed a revolutionary method to help prevent microplastic pollution — at least, from one source of plastic.
As Ohio State News reported, a team of researchers from Ohio State University sought to investigate ways to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products more resilient, thus reducing their likelihood of releasing harmful microplastics.
According to the university, PVC plastics are the third-most common plastics in the world and are found in construction materials, medical supplies, and even some toys. One of the major drawbacks of PVC is its fragility and sensitivity to high temperatures, which manufacturers counteract by adding plasticizers to make it more flexible.
Unfortunately, these additives are only a temporary solution to strengthen PVC. As Ohio State News explained, synthetic chemicals escape from the plastic and the PVCs eventually break down into microplastics and other dangerous toxins.
However, researchers discovered that PVC can be permanently stabilized by using electricity to graft the plasticizers onto a polymer's "backbone" — a long, linear chain of atoms that creates the core of each polymer molecule.
Changing the PVC molecules makes them tougher and more stable, resulting in materials less susceptible to microplastic shedding.
"This is really one of the few examples that we have where there's this much control over changing the properties of PVC," Christo Sevov, the study's lead researcher and an associate chemistry professor at Ohio State, told Ohio State News. "So this is the first step in controllably modifying PVC to give it properties you're interested in, whether it's hard, stretchy or soft."
While the team is still working to fine-tune the process, its discovery could have major implications for people and the planet when it's scaled up. Microplastics have been connected to a myriad of health issues in humans, including cancer, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and reproductive harm.
Since they contaminate our air, food, and water sources, including the oceans, they're also hazardous to wildlife and ecosystems.
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Solutions like the one presented by Ohio State researchers could help accelerate our progress in shaping a cleaner, healthier future. Although transitioning from plastics to safer alternatives is ideal for both industries and consumers, this is a step in the right direction.
Sevov explained that "you can potentially reuse the material many, many more times" before it degrades, making it more energy-efficient than even recycling PVC, which comes with its own set of problems.
The team is now working to commercialize its method and aims to do more research on the safest materials for consumers as more pieces of the puzzle come together.
"There's no better way to do this on the scale you would need for commercial PVC modification because it is an immense process," Sevov told Ohio State News. "There's still a lot to play around with before we solve the microplastic situation, though now we've laid the groundwork for how to do it."
Meanwhile, scientists have made critical breakthroughs in turning microplastics into graphene — which has applications in many industries — and removing even the tiniest microplastic particles from water.
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