Mentor: Matthew Kiesewetter, University of Rhode Island

Project Location

University of Rhode Island-Kingston

Project Description

Plastics are entering the ocean at alarming rates. The oceans will hold approximately 155 million metric tons of plastic in 2025 – or a larger mass of plastic than fish by 2050. This problem is particularly prescient for RI, with its 400 miles of coastline. The quintessential degradable plastic, polylactide (PLA), has been shown to degrade under physiological conditions and in industrial composting environments; however, no studies on the degradation of PLA in real ocean water have been reported. Further, studies in a simulated ocean environment suggest minimal PLA degradation over the course of one year. In addition to environmental factors, the degradability of PLA depends on polymer properties, and these properties can be controlled during polymer synthesis. Our hypothesis is that minimal changes in materials properties will produce large changes in degradation rates, and degradability versus materials properties must be determined to guide plastics production towards the best, truly degradable, plastics.