Nilsson Fritjof, Elf Patric, Capezza Antonio, Wei Xinfeng, Tsegaye Bahiru, Polisetti Veerababu, Svagan Anna J, Hedenqvist Mikael
Department of Fibre and Polymer Technology, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden; FSCN Research Centre, Mid Sweden University, 85170 Sundsvall, Sweden.
Department of Fibre and Polymer Technology, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden.
Sci Total Environ. 2025 Jan 1;958:177926. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177926. Epub 2024 Dec 17.
Water-soluble polymers are materials rapidly growing in volume and in number of materials and applications. Examples include synthetic plastics such as polyacrylamide, polyacrylic acid, polyethylene glycol, polyethylene oxide and polyvinyl alcohol, with applications ranging from cosmetics and paints to water purification, pharmaceutics and food packaging. Despite their abundance, their environmental concerns (e.g., bioaccumulation, toxicity, and persistence) are still not sufficiently assessed, especially since water soluble plastics are often not biodegradable, due to their chemical structure. This review aims to overview the most important water-soluble and biodegradable polymers, their applications, and their environmental impact. Degradation products from water-insoluble polymers designed for biodegradation can also be water soluble. Most water-soluble plastics are not immediately harmful for humans and the environment, but the degradation products are sometimes more hazardous, e.g. for polyacrylamide. An increased use of water-soluble plastics could also introduce unanticipated environmental hazards. Therefore, excessive use of water-soluble plastics in applications where they can enter the environment should be discouraged. Often the plastics can be omitted or replaced by natural polymers with lower risks. It is recommended to include non-biodegradable water-soluble plastics in regulations for microplastics, to make risk assessments for different water-soluble plastics and to develop labels for flushable materials.
水溶性聚合物是一类在材料数量和应用领域都迅速增长的材料。例子包括合成塑料，如聚丙烯酰胺、聚丙烯酸、聚乙二醇、聚环氧乙烷和聚乙烯醇，其应用范围涵盖从化妆品、涂料到水净化、制药和食品包装等领域。尽管它们数量众多，但其对环境的影响（如生物累积、毒性和持久性）仍未得到充分评估，特别是由于水溶性塑料因其化学结构往往不可生物降解。本综述旨在概述最重要的水溶性和可生物降解聚合物、它们的应用以及它们对环境的影响。专为生物降解设计的水不溶性聚合物的降解产物也可能是水溶性的。大多数水溶性塑料对人类和环境并非立即有害，但降解产物有时更具危害性，例如聚丙烯酰胺。水溶性塑料使用的增加也可能带来意想不到的环境危害。因此，应避免在可能进入环境的应用中过度使用水溶性塑料。通常可以省略这些塑料，或用风险较低的天然聚合物替代。建议将不可生物降解的水溶性塑料纳入微塑料法规，对不同的水溶性塑料进行风险评估，并为可冲散材料制定标签。
