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From the Pioneer Era of the aviation to World War I the evolution of aircraft technology and chemical synthesis enabled a unique coexistence of traditional craftsmanship, artistic decoration practices, and technological advancements. The study of the materials used in these early years of aviation is still an uncharted territory: a vast portion of remaining planes has been partially or completely repaired and restored, usually by total replacement of the fabric. The Italian biplane Ansaldo A.1 (1918) is a fighter aircraft and is one of the few planes in the world that still preserves its own original materials. In the last years, the fabric sections of the airplane have started to become brittle and loose cohesion, severely compromising the integrity of the aircraft, and resulting in a general alteration of the pictorial layers of the painted sections. A chemical investigation was undertaken to unveil the materials, and to elucidate the causes of the degradation. This study presents one of the first steps into the study of early historical aircrafts, defining the background for the conservation plans to preserve these objects for future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The total mass of individual synthetic polymers present as microplastic (MP < 2 mm) pollutants in the sediments of interconnected aquatic environments was determined adopting the Polymer Identification and Specific Analysis (PISA) procedure. The investigated area includes a coastal lakebed (Massaciuccoli), a coastal seabed (Serchio River estuarine), and a sandy beach (Lecciona), all within a natural park area in Tuscany (Italy). Polyolefins, poly(styrene) (PS), poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), polycarbonate (PC), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), and the polyamides poly(caprolactame) (Nylon 6) and poly(hexamethylene adipamide) (Nylon 6,6) were fractionated and quantified through a sequence of selective solvent extractions followed by either analytical pyrolysis or reversed-phase HPLC analysis of the products of hydrolytic depolymerizations under acidic and alkaline conditions. The highest concentrations of polyolefins (highly degraded, up to 864 µg/kg of dry sediment) and PS (up to 1138 µg/kg) MPs were found in the beach dune sector, where larger plastic debris are not removed by the cyclic swash action and are thus prone to further aging and fragmentation. Surprisingly, low concentrations of less degraded polyolefins (around 30 µg/kg) were found throughout the transect zones of the beach. Positive correlation was found between polar polymers (PVC, PC) and phthalates, most likely absorbed from polluted environments. PET and nylons above their respective LOQ values were found in the lakebed and estuarine seabed hot spots. The pollution levels suggest a significant contribution from riverine and canalized surface waters collecting urban (treated) wastewaters and waters from Serchio River and the much larger Arno River aquifers, characterized by a high anthropogenic pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]