Dataset belonging to " Mechanical fragmentation of environmentally aged macroplastics from the Rhine River under vessel-induced propeller jet forces"

This study experimentally determines the hydrodynamic forces required to fragment macroplastic items collected from the Rhine River in the Netherlands to assess whether the drag forces exerted by the propeller jets of riverine vessels can cause plastic fragmentation. The results demonstrate clear differences in fragmentation susceptibility among plastic categories. “Plastic film 2.5–50 cm (soft)” exhibited the lowest median breaking force (3.8 N) and the highest breakage probabilities when exposed to high jet-induced velocities generated by vessels, exceeding 50% at velocities ≥ 5 m s⁻¹ and reaching up to ~80% at 10 m s⁻¹.