The global production of plastics is increasing annually and exceeded 400 Mt in 2022. The large production of plastic is associated with a diffusion of plastic pollution and environmental problems related to plastic contamination. A huge amount of plastic reaches the environment, and it starts a very slow process of degradation. This degradation process leads to fragmentation of plastics in small pieces which may be invisible to naked eye, the smallest plastic debris are called nanoplastics (size below 1 µm) and they may have a different behavior in the environment compared to the larger plastic debris. Indeed, it is expected to have higher nanoplastics concentrations (in number) than microplastics in the environment and to be more reactive due to their larger surface-to-volume ratio. NaPuE project is investigating the fate of nanoplastics in the environment and is developing methods to analyze nanoplastics in natural waters and in the atmosphere.
The outcome of NaPuE will provide information about the environmental fate of nanoplastics and it will significantly contribute to open new horizons to develop further research in this direction. In general, data on nanoplastic behavior are needed to evaluate the environmental impact of nanoplastics, this information is crucial to design solutions to decrease the effects of nanoplastic pollution and to contribute to policy decisions about plastic pollution.
NaPuE project has four main objectives to improve the knowledge of nanoplastic behavior in the environment:
1- To study the abiotic degradation of nanoplastics dispersed in water.
2- To understand the interactions between nanoplastics and compounds in the gas phase (such as trace gases, e.g. ozone).
3- To develop a new procedure to sample and analyze nanoplastics in the environment.
4- To develop models to simulate and predict nanoplastic reactivity in the environment.
