University of Twente Student Theses
Release of microplastics from plastic baby bottles
Koopmans, Sophie (2024) Release of microplastics from plastic baby bottles.
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| Abstract: | Currently, everything is made of plastic, even baby bottles. Plastic is a material with several advantages: it is cheap, easy to produce, and lightweight [2, 3]. However, plastics also have some disadvantages such as the release of micro- and nanoplastics. Every plastic product loses microplastics, even baby bottles [4]. These microplastics have a (not yet fully known) impact on human health [5]. In this study, we try to quantify the release of microplastics due to high temperatures during the sterilization process in baby bottles. To quantify the release of microplastics, the bottles are exposed to different sterilization times, after that the water from the bottles is filtered and the filter is analyzed. Next, the found particles can be quantified. As a last step, the found microplastics will be characterized using FT-IR, SEM, and EDX. During all experiments, microplastics were released. The release of microplastics increases slightly with longer sterilization times. What is curious, is that the microplastic release was highest when the baby bottle was not sterilized at all. This can be due to the fact the bottle is not cleaned properly. Among the characterization experiments, the FT-IR results were inconclusive, and more research is necessary. However, the SEM and EDX results look promising. The images of the particles made with the SEM look a lot like plastic particles and the EDX spectra show a significant presence of a lot of carbon. Suggesting that there are plastic polymers present. This implies that infant feeding bottles do release microplastics which can impact the health of the baby. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | TNW: Science and Technology |
| Programme: | Biomedical Technology BSc (56226) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/100098 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
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