This thesis covers the design of an automated multiunit composting system (AMUCS) that was constructed to meet the experimental apparatus requirements of the ASTM D5338 standard. The design of the AMUCS is discussed in full detail and validated with two experiments. The first experiment was used to validate the operation of the AMUCS with a 15 day experiment. During this experiment visual observations were made to visually observe degradation. Thermal properties and stability tests were performed to quantify the effects of degradation on the polymer samples, and the carbon metabolized from the degradation of samples was measured. The second experiment used the AMUCS to determine the effect of synthetic clay nanofiller on the aerobic biodegradability behavior of poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate).

This thesis has an approved one-year embargo applied to it. Please, refer to the corresponding forms, and please, so not publish immediately until the embargo has been sorted out. The thesis contains two unpublish papers and patents pending. Thank you! / Conventional single-use plastic packaging has contributed significantly to the health and well-being of our society but also negatively impacted our environment due to its persistence after use. Since recycling is not a complete solution, rapidly biodegradable materials like thermoplastic starch (TPS) blends offer a more sustainable alternative. Additionally, to stave off the premature breakdown of starch-containing materials as well as extend the shelf life of enclosed foods, microbial control strategies need to be developed. To overcome the inherent brittleness of TPS, this work explores the potential of xylitol and erythritol as melt plasticizers for waxy corn starch (̴100% amylose). Characterizations revealed that both xylitol and erythritol can gelatinize and plasticize starch under 25% wt. Particularly, xylitol demonstrated superior plasticizing and compatibilizing effects, leading to a ductile TPS packaging film with uncharacteristically high elongation at break (EB, 422% ± 48%). The ductile TPS was blended with up to 70% Ecovio bioplastic without requiring compatibilizers and retaining much of its EB value (298 ± 24%). Using xylitol as a melt plasticizer also enhanced the mechanical and hydrophobic qualities of the TPS/Ecovio film as well as its oxygen permeability and puncture extension. Furthermore, polymerized curcumin copolymer (PCEG) was investigated as a grafted coating onto the developed TPS/Ecovio® blend. The antimicrobial activity of PCEG and PCEG coating film was evaluated against foodborne bacteria. The polymerized curcumin by itself demonstrated antimicrobial activity against the gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli BL21 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01, as well as the gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, the PCEG-coated films showed surface inhibition of Glutamicibacter soli (IAI-3), a gram-positive bacterium making polymerized curcumin copolymer coatings a suitable approach to add antimicrobial features in thermoplastic starch composites for biodegradable food packaging. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc) / Canada's Zero Plastics initiative represents a commitment to the environment while upholding the advancements in food safety and public health that come with single-use food packaging. Achieving this balance demands the creation of novel materials. These materials should mimic the qualities of synthetic polymers but have the added ability to decompose naturally in the environment upon reaching the end of their utility. A significant challenge in this effort is preventing the premature degradation of starch-containing packaging materials. Moreover, extending the shelf life of the food they enclose is equally crucial. To solve this paradox, the development of microbial control strategies becomes imperative. This study highlights the antimicrobial potential of a polymerized curcumin copolymer (PCEG) as a coating on a blend of thermoplastic starch (TPS)/xylitol/Ecovio®, creating an innovative packaging film. The curcumin copolymer coating exhibited antimicrobial properties, suggesting its potential use in thermoplastic starch composites for biodegradable food packaging.

L’objectif de ce travail de thèse était la synthèse d’un nouveau matériau polyuréthane biorsourcé composé par du caoutchouc naturel modifié chimiquement et par du poly(ε-caprolactone), (PCL), en présence ou absence d’isocyanates. Des oligoisoprènes téléchéliques hydroxylés (HTNR) ont été obtenus après époxidation du caoutchouc naturel et réduction des oligomères carbonyles. Plusieurs paramètres ont été étudiés comme la nature et la quantité relative de diisocyanate, le rapport molaire entre diisocyanate et diol (NCO:OH), l’influence de la masse molaire des diols HTNR et PCL, le pourcentage de 1,4-butane diol (BDO, extenseur de chaîne), et le rapport molaire entre les diols HTNR:PCL. Trois types de diisocyanate ont été employés : isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), toluène-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI) et hexaméthylène diisocyanate (HDI). Masses molaires différentes ont été utilisées pour les diols HTNR et PCL: 1700, 2800 et 2900 g/mol pour HTNR et 530 et 2000 g/mol pour PCL. Le rapport molaire entre NCO:OH était entre 0,75:1,00 – 2,85:1,00. Les PU ont été préparés par la méthode « one shot » et les structures chimiques des HTNR et PU ont été identifiées par 1H-NMR et FTIR. La résistance à la traction et à la rupture ont été étudiées. La caractérisation a été conduite par DSC, DMTA, ATG et spectroscopie Raman. Une étude préliminaire a montré que la masse molaire du PU augmentait avec le rapport NCO:OH et le temps de réaction, et que le chloroforme n’était pas un bon solvant pour obtenir des films. Le tetrahydrofurane était le solvant le plus approprié et il a été utilisé par la suite pour toutes les polymérisations. Le rapport NCO:OH = 1,25:1,00 s’est révélé optimal pour obtenir des films. L’analyse FTIR a permis de vérifier la présence de liaisons uréthane, de points de réticulation et de branchements. Le polyuréthane a montré des propriétés mécaniques excellentes dépendantes de la composition chimique. Si on exclue l’utilisation de PCL2000 et de HDI, le comportement à la traction était caractéristique des élastomères. Les PU étaient amorphes sauf lorsque le HDI a été employé. Duos ce cos été obtenais un PU semi cristallin. Cette cristallinité augmente le module de Young, la résistance à la rupture, la dureté et la stabilité thermique du PU. Pour ce PU ont observé une séparation de phase entre les segments du PCL et du HTNR. Les chaînes plus longues et plus flexibles du HTNR et leur non polarité sont responsables de la diminution des propriétés mécaniques et des températures de transition. Le materiae pane d’un comportement élastomère a un comportement plastique pour un rapport NCO:OH élevé (2,85 :1,00). Le dégréé de réticulation élevé a été retenu comme la cause pour laquelle il n’y avait pas de séparation de phase entre les segments souples et durs. La liaison hydrogène entre le diol PCL et le segment hard a généré des Tg élevées. Les spectres Raman ont montré la formation de la liaison uréthane du PU contenant différents diisocyanates. La synthèse de PU sans diisocyanate a été obtenue grâce à une réaction de polyaddition entre des carbonates cycliques téléchéliques dérivés du PCL et du caoutchouc naturel, et la 1,4-butylène diamine. Les structures contenant des carbonates cycliques ont été obtenues grâce à la modification des groupes OH sur le HTNR et le PCL à groupes carboxyle, utilisant l’anhydride succinique, et a la réaction successive avec le glycérol carbonate. / The aim of this research work was to prepare a novel bio-based polyurethane (PU) composed by chemically modified natural rubber (NR) and poly(ε-caprolactone) diol (PCL), with and without isocyanate. Hydroxyl telechelic natural rubber (HTNR) was synthesized via epoxidized and carbonyl telechelic natural rubber. The parameters studied included type and relative amount of diisocyanate, molar ratio between diisocyante and diol (NCO:OH), molecular weight of HTNR and PCL diol, 1,4-butane diol (BDO, chain extender) content and molar ratio between HTNR:PCL diols. Three types of diisocyanate were employed: isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI) and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI). The number average molecular weights of HTNR and PCL diol were selected: 1700, 2800 and 2900 g/mol for HTNR and 530 and 2000 g/mol for PCL diol. The NCO:OH molar ratio was in the range 0.75:1.00 – 2.85:1.00. PU was prepared by one-shot method. The chemical structure of HTNR, PCL and PU were identified by 1H-NMR FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Tensile properties and tear resistance of PU were investigated. Characterization of mechanical and thermal properties was carried out using DSC, DMTA and TGA. A preliminary study showed that the molecular weight of PU increased with increasing NCO:OH molar ratio and reaction time, and chloroform was not a good solvent for polymer casting. Tetrahydrofuran was an appropriate solvent as it allowed film formation and it was used in all the other experiments. The NCO:OH molar ratio of 1.25:1.00 was suitable for preparing good PU films. FTIR analysis verified the presence of urethane linkages and crosslinking or chain branching. PU demonstrated excellent mechanical properties, which depended on the chemical composition. Excluding the use of PCL2000 and HDI, the tensile behavior seemed to have typical elastomeric characteristics. PU became amorphous except in the case of HDI, which was able to crystallize leading to the crystalline PU. The crystallinity increased the Young’s modulus, the tear strength, the hardness and the thermal stability of PU. PU showed a phase separation between the PCL and HTNR segments. The longer and more flexible chain and non-polarity of HTNR were responsible of a decrease of the mechanical properties and transition temperatures. The very high molar ratio of NCO:OH (2.85:1.00) changed the tensile characteristics from an elastomer to a plastic. The high crosslinking was attributed to there being no phase separation between the hard and the soft segment. Hydrogen bonding between the PCL diol and the hard segment produced a high Tg. Raman spectra were able to identify the urethane linkage of PU containing different diisocyanates by showing the relative absorbance peaks. Synthesis of PU without isocyanate was successfully obtained via a polyaddition polymerization between a cyclic carbonate telechelic PCL/NR and 1,4-butylenediamine. The cyclic carbonate telechelic NR and cyclic carbonate telechelic PCL were prepared via the modification of the hydroxyl end groups of HTNR and PCL diols to carboxylic acid end groups by reacting with succinic anhydride. Then, the carboxylic acid end groups were changed to the cyclic carbonate end groups by using glycerol carbonate.

The effects of microplastics on zooplankton are an increasing environmental concern. Both primary microplastics that are produced as constituents of cosmetic products, as well as secondary microplastics that are formed by degradation of larger plastic debris, are ubiquitous in aquatic environments. Today, primary microplastics are being phased out and replaced by plant-derived bioplastics. Whether these new materials have similar effects as oil-based microplastics on animals is currently unknown. Here, we compare the effects of secondary microplastic exposure to Daphnia magna, using polylactic acid (PLA) as a representative for bioplastics and polystyrene (PS) for oil-based plastics. To increase the ecological relevance of our tests, we also provided treatments where the particles were coated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a means to simulate the coating of biofilms which readily form on particles under natural conditions. Furthermore, to be able to differentiate the effects of general particles from those specific to microplastics, kaolin clay was used as a control treatments, as well as one treatment containing only algae. The objectives were to test the influence of particles on feeding rates, reproduction and growth. PS caused a higher mortality, decreased feeding rate and reproductive output, while PLA and kaolin did not produce any negative effects. BSA did not have a significant effect on reproduction or growth. However, a decrease in reproduction was observed in the plastic treatments. Degradation of PS into styrene monomers is suggested as a possible explanation for the observed toxicity and effects on life history parameters.

Since the beginning of the 20th century plastic has been a widely used material, which has resulted in large quantities of plastic being produced in the last century. The plastics of today are mainly produced from fossil raw materials, which gives it a high climate impact. Plastic also has a long service life, which creates problems with handling after the new period when new plastic is produced at a faster rate than plastic debris can be recycled or incinerated. One possible approach is to switch from plastic from fossil sources to bioplastics, which is produced by renewable sources. This means a reduction in the environmental impact as the amount of fossil CO2 emissions from combustion of plastics would decrease. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are created by short volatile fatty acids (VFAs) added to bio sludge from a wastewater treatment plant at a pulp and paper mill where there is a lot of bacteria and microorganisms. Some of the bacteria in the sludge have the ability to accumulate PHA when VFA is added in excess and then be able to use it as an energy and carbon source in cases of starvation. This means that PHA produced in this way can be degraded by bacteria making it biodegradable while having similar properties as oil-based plastics. Production of PHA is currently expensive as it is often necessary to purchase VFA for production. To make it economically sustainable to replace oil-based plastics with PHA, the cost of PHA production must therefore be reduced. This can be done by using mixed bacterial cultures from, for example, industrial wastewater treatment plants and by creating their own composition of VFA through fermentation. At the paper mill at BillerudKorsnäs Gruvön there are several process streams that today are led to the water treatment plant, one of which is from PM6 (Paper Machine 6). By fermenting that stream, VFA can be formed with a composition of acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid. The current may thus be suitable to use as a substrate in PHA production. Another way to produce VFA is to ferment the residual flow from hydrothermal carbonation (HTC) of bio sludge. According to (Samorì et al., 2019), acetic acid, butyric acid and valeric acid are formed, which means that even this stream may be suitable as a substrate for PHA production. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the effects of the composition of VFA on the production of PHA from forest industrial bio sludge. The study covers two different cases, Case PM6 and Case HTC, where two different types of composition of VFA are added to paper sludge from the paper mill. The experiments were performed in cylindrical tanks on three occasions where the first two experiments had a volume of 30 liters and the last experiment a volume of 10 liters. On the first occasion, the maximum accumulation rate in the growth phase was studied. In the second instance, a high accumulation rate was sought, but also survival after the growth phase. The first two trials were batch trials where the sludge was dosed until saturation was achieved. On the third occasion, the possibility of carrying out PHA production with a continuous sludge exchange was studied. The experiments were analyzed by FTIR which provided information on the absorbance of the sludge which shows how the PHA concentration increased during the course of the experiments. Extractions were then performed to obtain the concentration of PHA that eventually accumulated in the sludge. The results show that biomass from BillerudKorsnäs Gruvön's mills accumulated PHA faster with VFA composition from fermented PM6 effluent compared to VFA composition from fermented HTC condensate. Calculations made with input from the experiments indicate that it is possible to produce a larger amount of PHA per year with Case PM6. The conclusion is therefore that Case PM6 is preferable if as large a PHA production as possible wants to be achieved. Case HTC is instead preferred if reduced PHA production can be tolerated in favor of biocarbon production.

The use of plastic has increased markedly in recent years which has led to more fossil fuels being used and more plastic in nature. This is a literature study that researches on how bio- based plastics can be used instead of plastics made from fossil fuels. The report is written in collaboration with Biotage, which is a global impact tech company that wants to use plastic parts that are made of more sustainable plastic for their products. Relevant and contemporary literature is reviewed, and several alternatives are addressed. The mechanical and physical properties of the different plastics are compared. Laboratory tests are performed on bio-based polyethylene, poly (lactic acid), bio-based polypropylene, polypropylene that contains wood fibre, recycled polypropylene and fossil-based polypropylene that is currently used by Biotage. The properties and way of manufacturing the plastics is discussed according to environmental aspects, as well as cost and recycling. This leads to the result that different plastics can be used for the different parts but plastics produced from bioethanol or biomass would be a more sustainable choice than plastic from fossil fuel.

Fiske förekommer runt om i hela världen, men det utförs av många olika anledningar. Det kan vara ett yrke, en hobby eller ett sätt att få mat på bordet. Men oavsett syftet kan beten gå sönder, fastna eller lossna. I Norden tappar vi uppskattningsvis 28 miljoner beten varje år. Att beten lossnar är inte något som alla kan påverka eller undvika. Något som däremot går att ändra är vilka beten vi faktiskt använder oss av och vilka material de består av. Det finns en mängd olika fiskeutövare som skulle kunna dra nytta av ny forskning inom området och det är på tiden att vi anammar ett mer hållbart sportfiske. Studien undersöker hur ett ekologiskt hållbart fiskedrag i form av en jigg kan framtas genom en materialcentrerad designprocess. Med hjälp av materialdriven design och användarcentrerad design undersöks möjligheterna att ersätta syntetiska plaster med bioplaster, i ett mjukt plastbete. Designmetoder användes för att granska och bekräfta problemet med förlorade fiskedrag. Marknadsanalyser, deltagande observationer och intervjuer utfördes med verksamma inom sport- och hobbyfiske. Metoderna gav en bredare uppfattning av problemet och vilka förbättringsmöjligheter som fanns. Olika prototyper skissades och framtogs genom bioplaster. För att säkerställa att produkten lever upp till användarnas krav, genomgick prototyperna olika tester, samt utvärderas. Studien ger ett kunskapsbidrag om vilka material som fungerar och vilka som inte fungerar vid tillverkning av mjuka plastdrag. Den visar dessutom hur massproducerade formar skulle kunna uppmana hobbyfiskare att tillverka sina egna drag. Det framgår också hur man från grunden kan framställa egna fiskedrag genom ett DIY-projekt. Studien resulterar även i två bionedbrytbara produkter. En produkt för abborrefiske och en för gäddfiske. / Fishing occurs throughout the entire planet, but it occurs for different reasons. It could be a profession, a hobby or a livelihood. Regardless, the bait can break, get stuck or get loose. In the North we lose around 28 million baits every year. The fact that lures is not something that everyone can influence or avoid. However, something that can be changed, is which lures we use and which materials they are made of. There are a variety of anglers who could benefit from new research in this field, and it is about time we embrace a more sustainable sport fishing. This study examines how an ecologically sustainable fishing lure in the shape of a jig, can be produced through a material centered design process. With material driven design and user centered design, this study investigates the possibilities of replacing synthetic plastics with bioplastics in a soft plastic bait. Several design methods were used to research and confirm the problem of lost fishing lures. Market analyses, participant observations and interviews were done with people active in sport- and hobby fishing. These methods gave a broader perception of the problem and which opportunities there are. Different prototypes were sketched and then made by bioplastics. The prototypes were evaluated through different tests, to ensure that the products will live up to the requirements presented by the users. This study provides knowledge about which materials work, and which do not when manufacturing soft plastic features. It also shows how mass-produced molds could encourage hobby anglers to make their own lures. It’s also shown how you can make your own fishing lures from scratch, through a DIY project. The study also results in two biodegradable products. One product for perch fishing and one for pike fishing.

<p>Mikroplastika&nbsp; je&nbsp; sveprisutna&nbsp; u&nbsp; vodenom&nbsp; ekosistemu&nbsp; pri&nbsp; čemu&nbsp; se&nbsp; često<br />ističe značaj ispitivanja njihovog uticaja na pona&scaron;anje drugih jedinjenja u vodi.<br />Pod pojmom mikroplastika podrazumevaju se plastične čestice manje od 5 mm.<br />Imajući u vidu potrebu za unapređenjem znanja o &scaron;tetnom uticaju mikroplastike<br />u životnoj sredini u ovom radu sproveden je set eksperimenata u kom je ispitivan<br />mehanizam&nbsp; interakcija&nbsp; koje&nbsp; se&nbsp; uspostavljaju&nbsp; prilikom&nbsp; adsorpcije&nbsp; hlorovanih<br />fenola,&nbsp; derivata&nbsp; benzena&nbsp; i&nbsp; policikličnih&nbsp; aromatičnih&nbsp; ugljovodonika&nbsp; na mikroplastici&nbsp; u&nbsp; vodenom&nbsp; matriksu.&nbsp; Kako&nbsp; bi&nbsp; se&nbsp; &scaron;to&nbsp; detaljnije&nbsp; razumeo&nbsp; uticaj mikroplastike&nbsp; i&nbsp; osobina&nbsp; vodenog&nbsp; matriksa&nbsp; na&nbsp; pona&scaron;anje&nbsp; organskih&nbsp; polutanata, laboratorijska ispitivanja su sprovedena u sintetičkom i realnom vodenommatriksu.&nbsp; Takođe&nbsp; je&nbsp; sprovedena&nbsp; optimizacija&nbsp; izolovanja&nbsp; i&nbsp; karakterizacije mikroplastike iz kozmetičkih sredstava u cilju procene uticaja osobina primarne mikroplastike na uspostavljanje interakcija sa organskim polutantima. Na&nbsp; osnovu&nbsp; dobijenih&nbsp; rezultata&nbsp; istraživanja&nbsp; može&nbsp; se&nbsp; zaključiti&nbsp; da&nbsp; se optimalna metoda izolovanja mikroplastike iz kozmetičkih sredstava zasniva na dodatnom&nbsp; tretiranju&nbsp; osu&scaron;enog&nbsp; materijala&nbsp; 30%&nbsp; vodonik-peroksidom,&nbsp; nakon ekstrakcije&nbsp; sredstva&nbsp; u&nbsp; destilovanoj&nbsp; vodi,&nbsp; u&nbsp; cilju&nbsp; dobijanja&nbsp; čistijih&nbsp; uzoraka mikroplastike. Promena brzine me&scaron;anja ima znčajan uticaj na promenu stepena adsorpcije ispitivanih grupa organskih jedinjenja.&nbsp; Uticaj se ogleda u povećanju stepena adsorpcije sa porastom brzine me&scaron;anja, a maksimalni procenat adsorpcije postignut&nbsp; je&nbsp; pri&nbsp; brzini&nbsp; me&scaron;anja&nbsp; od&nbsp; 150&nbsp; o/min.&nbsp; Dodatno,&nbsp; disperzija&nbsp; pra&scaron;kastih materijala u vodi nema značajan uticaj na promenu stepena adsorpcije hlorovanih fenola,&nbsp; derivata&nbsp; benzena&nbsp; i&nbsp; policikličnih&nbsp; aromatičnih&nbsp; ugljovodonika&nbsp; na mikroplastici.Ravnotežno&nbsp; stanje&nbsp; između&nbsp; koncentracije&nbsp; hlorovanih&nbsp; fenola,&nbsp; derivata<br />benzena&nbsp; i&nbsp; policikličnih&nbsp; aromatičnih&nbsp; ugljovodonika&nbsp; u&nbsp; vodi&nbsp; i&nbsp; odabranih predstavnika&nbsp; mikroplastike&nbsp; (PEp,&nbsp; PE_PCPs_1,&nbsp; PE_PCPs_2,&nbsp; PEg,&nbsp; PET,&nbsp; PP&nbsp; i PLA) uspostavlja se nakon 24 i 48 h kontakta u zavisnosti od vrste jedinjenja. Na promenu&nbsp; adsorpcionog&nbsp; afiniteta&nbsp; hlorovanih&nbsp; fenola,&nbsp; derivata&nbsp; benzena&nbsp; i policikličnih aromatičnih ugljovodonika prema mikroplastici utiču kako fizičkohemijske&nbsp; osobine&nbsp; jedinjenja&nbsp; tako&nbsp; i&nbsp; karakteristike&nbsp; mikroplastike.&nbsp; Na&nbsp; osnovu kinetičkih&nbsp; eksperimenata, najveći adsorpcioni afinitet ka mikroplastici&nbsp; ispoljili su&nbsp; derivati&nbsp; benzena&nbsp; (qt=103-350&nbsp; &micro;g/g),&nbsp; dok&nbsp; je&nbsp; najmanji&nbsp; uočen&nbsp; kod&nbsp; hlorovanih fenola&nbsp; (qt=25-225&nbsp; &micro;g/g).&nbsp; Dobijeni&nbsp; rezultati&nbsp; adsorpcije&nbsp; derivata&nbsp; benzena&nbsp; na ispitivanim&nbsp; česticama&nbsp; mikroplastike&nbsp; takođe&nbsp; su&nbsp; ukazali&nbsp; na&nbsp; veći&nbsp; afinitet&nbsp; ovih jedinjenja&nbsp; ka&nbsp; mikroplastici,&nbsp; u&nbsp; poređenju&nbsp; sa&nbsp; jedinjenjima&nbsp; iz&nbsp; grupe&nbsp; policikličnih aromatičnih&nbsp; ugljovodonika&nbsp; i&nbsp; hlorovanih&nbsp; fenola&nbsp; sličnih&nbsp; logKow&nbsp; vrednosti. Dodatno,&nbsp; uticaj&nbsp; vodenog&nbsp; matriksa&nbsp; na&nbsp; adsorpciju&nbsp; hlorovanih&nbsp; fenola,&nbsp; derivata benzena&nbsp; i&nbsp; policikličnih&nbsp; aromatičnih&nbsp; ugljovodonika&nbsp; na&nbsp; mikroplastici&nbsp; zavisi&nbsp; od same grupe jedinjenja kao i od vrste mikroplastike pri čemu je najmanje izražen u&nbsp; slučaju&nbsp; ispitivanih&nbsp; policikličnih&nbsp; aromatičnih&nbsp; ugljovodonika,&nbsp; a&nbsp; najvi&scaron;e&nbsp; kod hlorovanih fenola.Visoke&nbsp; vrednosti&nbsp; koeficijenta&nbsp; determinacije&nbsp; kinetičkog&nbsp; modela&nbsp; pseudodrugog&nbsp; reda&nbsp; za&nbsp; adsorpciju&nbsp; hlorovanih&nbsp; fenola,&nbsp; derivata&nbsp; benzena&nbsp; i&nbsp; policikličnih aromatičnih ugljovodonika na čestice mikroplastike ukazjuju da je hemisorpcija mogući&nbsp; mehanizam.&nbsp; Pored&nbsp; visokih&nbsp; vrednosti&nbsp; koeficijenata&nbsp; determinacije&nbsp; u slučaju svih odabranih organskih jedninjenja dobijena konstanta brzine drugog reda&nbsp; bila&nbsp; je&nbsp; manja&nbsp; od&nbsp; po četne&nbsp; brzine&nbsp; adsorpcije&nbsp; &scaron;to&nbsp; ukazuje&nbsp; na&nbsp; znatno&nbsp; brže odvijanje&nbsp; adsorpcije&nbsp; pri&nbsp; kraćim&nbsp; vremenima&nbsp; kontakta&nbsp; (12-24&nbsp; h)&nbsp; nakon&nbsp; čega&nbsp; je<br />dolazilo do usporavanja procesa adsorpcije.Mehanizam adsorpcije hlorovanih fenola, derivata benzena i policikličnih aromatičnih ugljovodonika&nbsp; ispitivan&nbsp; je primenom Freundlich-ovog, Langmuirovog,&nbsp; Redlich-Peterson-ovog&nbsp; i&nbsp; Dubinine-Radusckevich-evog&nbsp; adsorpcionog modela. Vrednosti Freundlich-ovog eksponenta za adsorpciju hlorovanih fenola, derivata benzena i&nbsp; policikličnih aromatičnih ugljovodonika bile su manje od 1,<br />&scaron;to ukazuje na to da je slobodna energije adsorpcije na mikroplastci opadala sa povećanjem&nbsp; inicijalne&nbsp; koncetracije&nbsp; ispitivanih&nbsp; polutanata.&nbsp; Vrednosti maksimalnog adsorpcionog kapaciteta dobijene za&nbsp; adsorpcione procese PAH&nbsp; na česticama mikroplastike bile su u opsegu od 29,7-2596,5 &micro;g/g. Visoke vrednosti maksimalnih adsorpcionih kapaciteta dobijene su takođe za adsorpciju derivata benzena na ispitivanim vrstama mikroplastike&nbsp; 39,3-2010,1 &micro;g/g. S druge strane, uočeno&nbsp; je&nbsp; različito&nbsp; adsorpciono&nbsp; pon&scaron;anje&nbsp; hlorovanih&nbsp; fenola&nbsp; u&nbsp; zavisnosti&nbsp; od vodenog metriksa u kom su eksperimenti sprovedeni pri čemu su&nbsp; qmax&nbsp; vrednosti iznosile 20,00-205,6 &micro;g/g. Značajan uticaj&nbsp; pH vrednosti vodenog matriksa&nbsp; utvrđen je&nbsp; za adsorpciju hlorovanih&nbsp; fenola&nbsp; na&nbsp; mikroplastici,&nbsp; dok&nbsp; u&nbsp; slučaju&nbsp; derivata&nbsp; benzena&nbsp; i&nbsp; PAH promena pH vrednosti vodenog matriksa nije pokazala značajan uticaj. Rezultati dobijeni&nbsp; za&nbsp; adsorpciju&nbsp; hlorovanih&nbsp; fenola&nbsp; na&nbsp; mikroplastici&nbsp; ukazuju&nbsp; na&nbsp; nižu tendenciju&nbsp; ka&nbsp; formiranju&nbsp; interakcija&nbsp; hlorovanih&nbsp; fenola&nbsp; sa&nbsp; česticama mikroplastike pri pH 4 i pH 10, pri čemu se stepen adsorpcije kretao u opsegu od 8-35% i 15-35%, respektivno, u odnosu na pH 7 (55-65%). Najniži&nbsp; adsorpcioni&nbsp; afinitet&nbsp; uočava&nbsp; se&nbsp; pri&nbsp; adsorpciji&nbsp; ispitivanih&nbsp; grupa jedinjenja na PLA. Može se pretpostaviti da će se organski polutanti,&nbsp;&nbsp; ukoliko ova vrsta mikroplastike dospe u vodene sisteme, slabo vezivati na ovaj materijal pri čemu će značajno manje uticati na njihov trasport kroz životnu sredinu, u odnosu<br />na druge ispitivane vrste mikroplastike. Na&nbsp; osnovu&nbsp; dobijenih&nbsp; rezultata&nbsp; istraživanja&nbsp; može&nbsp; se&nbsp; zaključiti&nbsp; da&nbsp; na adsorpciju ispitivanih grupa organskih jedinjenja i mikroplastike značajan uticaj imaju&nbsp; fizičko-hemijske&nbsp; osobine&nbsp; ispitivanih&nbsp; jedinjenja&nbsp; kao&nbsp; &scaron;to&nbsp; su&nbsp; kiselinska konstanta, veličina molekula, hidrofobnost, stukturni raspored i dr. Pored toga, karakteristike vodenog matriksa, među kojima je najvažnija pH vrednost, imaju značajan&nbsp; uticaj&nbsp; na&nbsp; adsorpcioni&nbsp; afinitet&nbsp; jedinjenja&nbsp; ka&nbsp; mikroplastici.&nbsp; Dodatno,<br />struktura&nbsp; i&nbsp; poreklo&nbsp; polimera&nbsp; ima&nbsp; veliki&nbsp; uticaj&nbsp; na&nbsp; formiranje&nbsp; interakcija&nbsp; sa<br />ispitivanim grupama organskih polutanata. Dobijeni rezultati takođe ukazuju na<br />nemogućnost&nbsp; određivanje&nbsp; unifomnog&nbsp; mehanizma&nbsp; adsorpcije&nbsp; organskih<br />jedinjenja na česticama mikroplastike u vodi.</p> / <p>Microplastics&nbsp; are&nbsp; ubiquitous&nbsp; in&nbsp; aquatic&nbsp; ecosystems,&nbsp; so&nbsp; it&nbsp; is&nbsp; essential&nbsp; to study their&nbsp; impact on the behaviour of other compounds which are commonly present in water. The term microplastics refers to all plastic particles smaller than 5 mm. In order&nbsp; to address knowledge gaps relating to the potential harmful effects of microplastics in the environment, the experiments conducted during this thesis were designed to investigate the adsorption mechanism of chlorinated phenols, benzene derivatives, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on microplastics in water.&nbsp; To&nbsp; provide&nbsp; a&nbsp; more&nbsp; detailed&nbsp; understanding&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; influence&nbsp; of&nbsp; different water&nbsp; matrices&nbsp; on&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; properties&nbsp; of&nbsp; microplastics,&nbsp; experiments&nbsp; were conducted in both synthetic and real water matrices. In the course of this work, methods were optimised for the isolation and characterization of microplastifrom personal care products, in order to allow investigation&nbsp; of the influence of the&nbsp; properties&nbsp; of&nbsp; primary&nbsp; microplastics&nbsp; on&nbsp; their&nbsp; interactions&nbsp; with&nbsp; organic pollutants.Base on the obtained results, it can be concluded that the optimal method of isolating microplastics from personal care products is based&nbsp; on treating already dried&nbsp; material&nbsp; with&nbsp; 30%&nbsp; hydrogen&nbsp; peroxide,&nbsp; after&nbsp; extraction&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; agent&nbsp; in distilled water, in order to obtain cleaner microplastic samples. The mixing rate was&nbsp; found&nbsp; to&nbsp; have&nbsp; a&nbsp; significant&nbsp; effect&nbsp; on&nbsp; the&nbsp; degree&nbsp; of&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; of&nbsp; the investigated&nbsp; organic&nbsp; compounds.&nbsp; Increasing&nbsp; the&nbsp; mixing&nbsp; speed&nbsp; led&nbsp; to&nbsp; a&nbsp; higher<br />degree&nbsp; of&nbsp; adsorption,&nbsp; with&nbsp; the&nbsp; maximum&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; percentage&nbsp; reached&nbsp; at&nbsp; a<br />mixing speed of 150 rpm. In addition, the dispersion of powdered materials in the&nbsp; water&nbsp; had&nbsp; no&nbsp; significant&nbsp; effect&nbsp; on the&nbsp; degree&nbsp; of&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; of&nbsp; chlorinated phenols,&nbsp; benzene&nbsp; derivatives,&nbsp; and&nbsp; polycyclic&nbsp; aromatic&nbsp; hydrocarbons&nbsp; on microplastics.<br />The&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; equilibrium&nbsp; between&nbsp; the&nbsp; concentration&nbsp; of&nbsp; chlorinated phenols,&nbsp; benzene derivatives and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water and selected types of microplastics (PEp, PE_PCPs_1, PE_PCPs_2, PEg, PET, PP, and&nbsp; PLA) was established after 24 and 48 h of contact time, depending on the selected&nbsp; group&nbsp; of&nbsp; organic&nbsp; pollutants.&nbsp; The&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; affinity&nbsp; of&nbsp; chlorinated phenols,&nbsp; benzene&nbsp; derivatives,&nbsp; and&nbsp; polycyclic&nbsp; aromatic&nbsp; hydrocarbons&nbsp; towards microplastics&nbsp; was&nbsp; influenced&nbsp; by&nbsp; both&nbsp; the&nbsp; physicochemical&nbsp; properties&nbsp; of&nbsp; the compounds&nbsp; and&nbsp; the&nbsp; characteristics&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; microplastics.&nbsp; Based&nbsp; on&nbsp; the&nbsp; kinetic experiments,&nbsp; the&nbsp; highest&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; affinity&nbsp; for&nbsp; microplastics&nbsp; was&nbsp; shown&nbsp; by benzene derivatives (qt=103-350 &micro;g/g), while the lowest was&nbsp; observed during the adsorption of chlorinated phenols (qt=25-225 &micro;g/g). Benzene derivatives showed higher&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; affinities&nbsp; for&nbsp; the&nbsp; selected&nbsp; microplastic&nbsp; particles&nbsp; than&nbsp; the polycyclic&nbsp; aromatic&nbsp; hydrocarbons&nbsp; and&nbsp; &nbsp; chlorinated&nbsp; phenols&nbsp; which&nbsp; had&nbsp; similar logKow&nbsp; values. The influence of the water matrix on adsorption of chlorinated phenols,&nbsp; benzene&nbsp; derivatives,&nbsp; and&nbsp; polycyclic&nbsp; aromatic&nbsp; hydrocarbons&nbsp; on microplastics&nbsp; depended&nbsp; on&nbsp; the&nbsp; specific&nbsp; functional&nbsp; groups&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; investigated compounds as well as on the type of microplastics. Water matrix had little impact on&nbsp; the&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; of&nbsp; polycyclic&nbsp; aromatic&nbsp; hydrocarbons&nbsp; on&nbsp; microplastics&nbsp; but greatly impacted the adsorption of chlorinated phenols. Fitting the pseudo-second order kinetic&nbsp; model to the&nbsp; adsorption data of chlorinated phenols, benzene derivatives, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on microplastic particles resulted in high correlation coefficients, indicating that chemisorption&nbsp; is&nbsp; the&nbsp; likely&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; mechanism.&nbsp; In&nbsp; addition&nbsp; to&nbsp; the&nbsp; high correlation coefficients obtained for all the organic pollutants investigated, the pseudo-second order rate constants obtained were lower than the initiaadsorption rate, indicating significantly faster adsorption at shorter contact times (12-24 h), with adsorption slowing down as equilibrium was reached.The adsorption mechanism of chlorinated phenols, benzene derivatives,<br />and&nbsp; polycyclic&nbsp; aromatic&nbsp; hydrocarbons&nbsp; was&nbsp; investigated&nbsp; using Freundlich,Langmuir,&nbsp; Redlich-Peterson,&nbsp; Dubinine-Radusckevich,&nbsp; and&nbsp; Temkin&nbsp; adsorption models.&nbsp; The&nbsp; Freundlich&nbsp; exponent&nbsp; values&nbsp; for&nbsp; the&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; of&nbsp; chlorinated phenols, benzene&nbsp; derivatives, and polycyclic&nbsp; aromatic&nbsp; hydrocarbons were&nbsp; less than 1 which indicates that the free energy of adsorption of these compounds on microplastics&nbsp; decreases&nbsp; as&nbsp; the&nbsp; initial&nbsp; concentration&nbsp; increases.&nbsp; The&nbsp; maximum adsorption capacities of PAHs on microplastic particles were in the range of 29.7-2596.5&nbsp; &micro;g/g.&nbsp; High&nbsp; maximum&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; capacities&nbsp; were&nbsp; also obtained&nbsp; for the adsorption&nbsp; of&nbsp; benzene&nbsp; derivatives&nbsp; on&nbsp; the&nbsp; tested&nbsp; types&nbsp; of&nbsp; microplastics:&nbsp; 39.3-2010.1&nbsp; &micro;g/g.&nbsp; The&nbsp; chlorinated&nbsp; phenols&nbsp; behaved&nbsp; differently,&nbsp; and&nbsp; were&nbsp; more effected by the water matrix, with qmax values in&nbsp; the range 20.00-205.6 &micro;g/g. The pH of the water matrix was found to have a significant effect on the adsorption&nbsp; of&nbsp; chlorinated&nbsp; phenols&nbsp; on&nbsp; microplastics,&nbsp; whereas&nbsp; in&nbsp; the&nbsp; case&nbsp; of benzene&nbsp; derivatives&nbsp; and&nbsp; polycyclic&nbsp; aromatic&nbsp; hydrocarbons,&nbsp; the&nbsp; degree&nbsp; of<br />adsorption&nbsp; was&nbsp; largely&nbsp; independent&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; water&nbsp; pH.&nbsp; For&nbsp; the&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; of chlorinated&nbsp; phenols&nbsp; on&nbsp; microplastics,&nbsp; neutral&nbsp; pH&nbsp; conditions&nbsp; resulted&nbsp; in&nbsp; the greatest degrees of adsorption (55-65% at pH 7), while adsorption was inhibited under acidic (8-35% at pH 4) and basic (15-35% at pH 10) conditions. The microplastic type with the lowest observed adsorption affinities was PLA. It can be thus be assumed that in the event that this type of microplastic enters water systems, organic pollutants will only adsorb weakly to this material, such&nbsp; that&nbsp; it&nbsp; will&nbsp; have&nbsp; significantly&nbsp; less&nbsp; impact&nbsp; on&nbsp; the&nbsp; transport&nbsp; of&nbsp; the se compounds through the environment, than the other tested&nbsp; types of microplastics. The results obtained in this research demonstrate that the adsorption of the selected&nbsp; groups&nbsp; of&nbsp; organic&nbsp; pollutants&nbsp; on&nbsp; the&nbsp; microplastics&nbsp; investigated&nbsp; is significantly&nbsp; controlled&nbsp; by&nbsp; the&nbsp; physicochemical&nbsp; properties&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; tested compounds, such as the dissociation constant, molecule&nbsp; size, hydrophobicity,<br />structural properties, etc. In addition, the characteristics of the water matrix play an important role in controlling adsorption of organic pollutants on microplastic, especially the water pH. In addition, the structure and aging of the polymers had a major influence&nbsp; on their interactions with the selected organic pollutants. The obtained&nbsp; results&nbsp; also&nbsp; demonstrate&nbsp; the&nbsp; difficulty&nbsp; in&nbsp; determining&nbsp; a&nbsp; uniform mechanism&nbsp; of&nbsp; adsorption&nbsp; between&nbsp; the&nbsp; various&nbsp; organic&nbsp; compounds&nbsp; and microplastic particles in water.</p>