Fujii Yukiko, Harada Kouji H, Miyakawa Daiki, Nagahama Yukana, Weber Roland, Kajiwara Natsuko
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Daiichi University of Pharmacy, 22-1 Tamagawa, Minami-ku, Fukuoka, 815-8511, Japan.
Laboratory of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, Kyoto Prefectural University, Shimogamo, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8522, Japan.
Chemosphere. 2025 Aug;383:144467. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2025.144467. Epub 2025 May 31.
Perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) are used in electrical products and food packaging, and could enter the circular plastic economy. In this study, the concentrations of PFCAs (C to C) were measured in 99 recycled plastic pellet samples collected in Japan and nine selected countries from 2021 to 2024. The concentration distribution of PFCAs in recycled plastic pellets (n = 99) was 59% below 50 ng/kg for total PFCAs. The average total PFCA concentration in the samples from Japan (n = 68) was 73 ng/kg (16 ng/kg from perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOA) and the maximum concentration was 540 ng/kg (88 ng/kg from PFOA). For comparison, the primary plastic pellets from Japan were also analyzed and the concentrations in eight out of nine samples were below the detection limit and very low concentrations (2.7 ng/kg) were detected in the other sample. The concentrations of PFCAs in the recycled plastic pellets were significantly higher than those in the primary plastic pellets (p < 0.05, Student's t-test), indicating that some PFCAs used in plastic products enter the circular plastic economy. Total PFCA concentrations in recycled pellets from overseas averaged 110 ng/kg (PFOA: 24 ng/kg) and the maximum concentration was 590 ng/kg (PFOA: 130 ng/kg). These concentrations were comparable to those found in pellets from Japan. Branched isomers of PFCAs were detected in the recycled pellets, albeit at concentrations an order of magnitude lower than those of the linear PFCAs. According to the results of this study, even when the sum of linear and branched PFCAs is considered, the amount of PFCAs present in recycled plastics is at parts per trillion levels, suggesting that the concentrations of PFCAs in average recycled plastic pellets are not high enough to hinder the promotion of recycling.
全氟烷基羧酸（PFCA）被用于电子产品和食品包装中，并且可能进入循环塑料经济体系。在本研究中，于2021年至2024年期间，对在日本及九个选定国家收集的99个回收塑料颗粒样本中PFCA（C至C）的浓度进行了测量。回收塑料颗粒（n = 99）中PFCA的浓度分布情况为，总PFCA有59%低于50纳克/千克。来自日本的样本（n = 68）中PFCA的平均总浓度为73纳克/千克（全氟辛酸，PFOA为16纳克/千克），最大浓度为540纳克/千克（PFOA为88纳克/千克）。作为对比，还对来自日本的原生塑料颗粒进行了分析，九个样本中有八个样本的浓度低于检测限，另一个样本中检测到了极低浓度（2.7纳克/千克）。回收塑料颗粒中PFCA的浓度显著高于原生塑料颗粒中的浓度（p < 0.05，学生t检验），这表明塑料制品中使用的一些PFCA进入了循环塑料经济体系。海外回收颗粒中PFCA的总平均浓度为110纳克/千克（PFOA：24纳克/千克），最大浓度为590纳克/千克（PFOA：130纳克/千克）。这些浓度与在日本颗粒中发现的浓度相当。在回收颗粒中检测到了PFCA的支链异构体，尽管其浓度比线性PFCA低一个数量级。根据本研究结果，即便将线性和支链PFCA的总量考虑在内，回收塑料中PFCA的含量处于万亿分之一的水平，这表明平均回收塑料颗粒中PFCA的浓度并不高，不足以阻碍回收利用的推广。
