MicroPlasticFate web application: Multimedia environmental fate modelling of microplastic particles via the Enalos Cloud Platform

The MicroPlasticFate web application is presented in this work, a user-friendly web tool, developed to simulate the fate and behaviour of nano- and microplastics (NMPs) in diverse environmental media/compartments. This application hosted on the Enalos cloud platform: https://www.enaloscloud.novamechanics.com/EnalosWebApps/MicroPlasticFate/, replicates the core features of the SimpleBox4Plastic (SB4P) multimedia environmental fate model. It enables users to model the fate and transport of NMPs across multiple environmental scales, including regional, continental and global scale, each of which consists of compartments/media of air, soil, water and sediment. MicroPlasticFate integrates functionalities for in-depth exploration of the environmental persistence of three widely used plastics — Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) — which do not exist as predefined substances in SB4P. Moreover, the web application offers the examination of the fate factors (FF_i,j) of NMPs that represent the increase of a substance mass in environmental compartment i due to emissions in compartment j (measured in days). MicroPlasticFate web application also features the computation of the proportion of a given substance's volume within a specified compartment at steady-state, providing a comprehensive understanding of NMPs distribution patterns. This web tool eliminates the need for coding expertise by integrating a Graphical User Interface (GUI), enhancing user accessibility and interaction. MicroPlasticFate also offers an Application Programming Interface (API) that enables interoperability with external software and databases for expanding its utility in scientific research, environmental monitoring and regulatory risk assessments.