Dr T Aspray
No more applications being accepted
Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
Microplastic contamination in marine environments has been widely reported with studies on source, abundance, as well as fate and risk to marine organisms rapidly advancing. By comparison, research on microplastics in terrestrial environments is currently lagging behind (Rilling, 2012). In fact, only three primary research articles have been published on microplastics related to terrestrial (soil) environments. One article proposes an extraction method for microplastics (Fuller & Gautam, 2016) and the other two consider individually fate and toxicity aspects. Specifically, the ageing of PLA/PHB blended film in agricultural soil (Mosnackova et al., 2016) and, the effect of LDPE microplastic on earthworm survival and fitness (Lwanga et al. 2016). Clearly, there is scope for enhancing understanding of sources and impact of microplastics in terrestrial (soil) environments.
The proposed project builds on past and current funded research on food waste derived organic fertilisers as a source of plastics entering the soil environment. The project will make use of established facilities and expertise on the characterisation of plastic fragment polymer types and soil quality assessment.
The specific project objectives are to:
1. Determine the abundance of microplastics in organic fertilisers and soil systems; the latter assessed in the relation to known material input histories
2. Assess importance of agricultural soil management practices on in situ microplastic formation
3. Assess the impact of key polymer types on soil quality parameters
Funding Notes
Scholarships will cover tuition fees and provide an annual stipend of approximately £14,500 (at the RCUK approved rate) for the 36 month duration of the project.
To be eligible, applicants should have a first-class honours degree in a relevant subject or a 2.1 honours degree plus Masters (or equivalent).
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