The presence of microplastics in environmental compartments is generally recognized as a (potential) health risk. Many papers have been published on the abundance of microplastics at various locations around the globe, but only limited knowledge is available on possible mitigation routes. One of the mitigation routes is based on the choice of plastic materials used for products that may unintentionally end up in the environment. As a first approach, this paper presents a method to calculate the tendency of polymers to form microplastics, based on their mechanical and physical properties. A MicroPlastic Index (MPI) that correlates the microplastic formation to polymer properties is defined for both impact and wear of polymers via a theoretical particle size and the energy required to form these particles. A first comparison between calculated and experimental particle size is included. The MPI for impact and wear follow the same trend. Finally, these MPIs are correlated to the respective abundance of the microplastics in the environment, corrected for global production of the corresponding polymers: the higher the MPI, the more microplastics are found in the environment. Thus, the MPI can be used as a basis for choice or redesign of polymers to reduce microplastic formation.
Keywords: MPI; impact; microplastics; polymer properties; wear.