Mušič Branka, Jemec Kokalj Anita, Sever Škapin Andrijana
Department of Materials, Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, Dimičeva ulica 12, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna Pot 111, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Polymers (Basel). 2023 Jun 20;15(12):2751. doi: 10.3390/polym15122751.
Cellulose acetate is used in many applications, including for cigarette filters. Unfortunately, unlike cellulose, its (bio)degradability is under question, yet it often ends up uncontrolled in the natural environment. The main purpose of this study is to compare the effects of weathering on two types of cigarette filter (classic filters and newer filters that have more recently arrived on the market) following their use and disposal in nature. Microplastics were prepared from polymer parts of used (classic and heated tobacco products-HTP) cigarettes and artificially aged. TG/DTA, FTIR, and SEM analyses were performed both before and after the aging process. Newer tobacco products contain an additional film made of a poly(lactic acid) polymer which, like cellulose acetate, burdens the environment and poses a risk to the ecosystem. Numerous studies have been conducted on the disposal and recycling of cigarette butts and cigarette butt extracts, revealing alarming data that have also influenced the decisions of the EU, who addressed the disposal of tobacco products in the EU Directive (EU) 2019/904. Despite this, there is still no systematic analysis in the literature evaluating the impact of weathering (i.e., accelerated aging) on the degradation of cellulose acetate in classic cigarettes compared with that in newer tobacco products that have recently appeared on the market. This is of particular interest given that the latter have been promoted as being healthier and environmentally friendly. The results show that in cellulose acetate cigarette filters the particle size decreased after accelerated aging. Also, the thermal analysis revealed differences in the behavior of the aged samples, while the FTIR spectra showed no shifts in the position of the peaks. Organic substances break down under UV light, which can be seen by measuring the color change. The PLA film was found to be more stable than cellulose acetate under the influence of UV light.
醋酸纤维素有许多用途，包括用于香烟过滤嘴。不幸的是，与纤维素不同，其（生物）降解性存在疑问，但它在自然环境中往往最终处于无控制状态。本研究的主要目的是比较两种类型的香烟过滤嘴（经典过滤嘴和最近上市的新型过滤嘴）在自然环境中使用和丢弃后，风化对它们的影响。微塑料由用过的（经典香烟和加热烟草制品-HTP）香烟的聚合物部件制备并进行人工老化。在老化过程前后都进行了热重/差示热分析（TG/DTA）、傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）和扫描电子显微镜（SEM）分析。新型烟草制品含有一层由聚乳酸聚合物制成的额外薄膜，它与醋酸纤维素一样，会给环境带来负担并对生态系统构成风险。已经对烟头及烟头提取物的处理和回收进行了大量研究，揭示了令人担忧的数据，这些数据也影响了欧盟的决策，欧盟在《欧盟指令》（EU）2019/904中涉及了烟草制品的处理问题。尽管如此，文献中仍然没有系统分析来评估风化（即加速老化）对经典香烟中醋酸纤维素降解的影响，并与最近上市的新型烟草制品中的醋酸纤维素降解影响进行比较。鉴于后者被宣传为更健康和环保，这一点尤其值得关注。结果表明，在醋酸纤维素香烟过滤嘴中，加速老化后粒径减小。此外，热分析揭示了老化样品行为的差异，而FTIR光谱显示峰位置没有偏移。有机物质在紫外光下会分解，这可以通过测量颜色变化看出。发现在紫外光的影响下，聚乳酸薄膜比醋酸纤维素更稳定。
