Microplastics Research Centre (10)

Planned project results:

1. The first interdisciplinary research centre in the Russian Federation dealing with microplastics-related problems will be established, headed by the leading scientist Professor Jose Kenny, and involving leading Russian experts. The new centre, based at Novgorod State University, will be equipped with a wide range of experimental and theoretical tools, the joint use of which will make it possible to develop and test new approaches to solving the problem of microplastics as a potential threat to human health and the environment. The research centre will also train new highly qualified personnel capable of future participation in resolving tasks related to the development of the innovation-based and knowledge-intensive economy of the Russian Federation.
2. Model, artificially created polymer microparticles will be synthesised from both non-biodegradable and biodegradable polymers in order to study the comparative effects of microplastics and to establish their real hazard levels. Unlike real microplastics, the polymer composition of such particles is well known and their size is easily controlled. This approach is based on the know-how of the project participants, and has not been applied practically before anywhere in the world. For polymer particles of the smallest (nanometre) size, modern computer modelling methods will be used along with high-resolution models, since full-atom computer modelling is the only source of microscopic information about model particles of such a small size.
3. The negative impact on the environment and human health of microplastics of the most hazardous size (50 micrometres and smaller) will be assessed by introducing model particles into three main environments (water, soil, and living systems). The embedded particles will be subsequently detected, isolated, and characterised, for which experimental techniques and procedures will be developed for the isolation of model polymer particles from the three environments under study. It is expected that these techniques will be extended to real systems with unknown microplastic content. Additionally, a state-of-the-art deep machine learning model will be developed for the accelerated characterisation of microplastics in practical applications.
4. The specific features of the adsorption and transfer on microplastic particles of various pollutants threatening the environment and human health (pesticides, antibiotics, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metal ions, etc.) will be estimated. It will be established how the adsorption of pollutants on microplastics changes the surface properties, as well as the effects of microplastics on soil and living organisms.
5. In order to study the “ageing” processes of microplastic particles, experiments on the accelerated ageing of model microplastic particles will be conducted in artificial laboratory conditions imitating natural ones (UV radiation, temperature, humidity, salt and acid composition of water environment, etc.). The specific features of the kinetics of microplastic particle decomposition, as well as the influence of the peculiarities of the chemical structure of polymer chains on their ageing processes will be established. A comparative evaluation of the degradation rate for microplastic particles made of non-biodegradable and biodegradable polymers will also be carried out.
6. As one of the possible approaches to solving the microplastic problem, a technology will be developed for the production of biodegradable polymers from available bio-based raw materials: unlike traditional mass-produced polymers, tiny particles of biodegradable polymers are less stable and do not lead to the uncontrolled accumulation of microplastics in the environment. The development of this technology will be carried out at an existing industrial facility under the supervision of the project's lead scientist, Prof Jose Kenny, who is a recognised expert in the synthesis and research of biodegradable polymers. It is tentatively planned to produce biodegradable polymers from bioresources with a high content of sugars which are available in north-west Russia - technologies for the production of such polymers in the Russian Federation are practically non-existent.

The planned results set out above will make a significant contribution to solving the acute worldwide problem of plastic pollution. This problem is interdisciplinary and global in nature, but relevant scientific research is practically absent in the Russian Federation, which jeopardises the country's technological sovereignty. Proprietary research and breakthrough technologies are also needed in the development and implementation of an international treaty on limiting plastic waste. The planned results of the project are also important for the development of the Novgorod region, as soils are considered to be the main accumulator of microplastics in the environment. Agriculture and fertiliser production, which can also contain large amounts of microplastics, are key for the region. The results of research into the danger of microplastics for agricultural soils can have a significant impact on both the food security of the country and the economic development of the Novgorod region. The experimental methods developed for the separation of microplastic particles as part of the project will be important for practical use, for example, in the form of scientifically based recommendations and regulations developed for the needs of the Federal Service for the Supervision of Environmental Management.