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The effects of sediment properties on the aeolian abrasion and surface characteristics of microplastics
Summary
This study used laboratory wind tunnel experiments to examine how microplastics are physically abraded when transported by wind alongside sand and soil particles, testing angular, sub-rounded, and rounded sediment grains over extended periods. The abrasion altered the surface chemistry and texture of the plastic particles in ways that could affect how they interact with pollutants and organisms in the environment. The work reveals that wind transport does not merely move microplastics — it transforms them, potentially changing their environmental hazard profile.
Microplastics (< 5 mm diameter) are significant environmental contaminants whose small sizes and low densities facilitate transport by wind. Transport by wind erosion alongside soils or sediments results in mechanical abrasion of the plastic surfaces which can alter their physical and chemical properties. This paper using laboratory simulations to determine the effects of up to 216 hours of aeolian abrasion on polyethylene microplastics by angular, sub-rounded and rounded mineral sediments. During the abrasion process the mineral particles break down producing small fragments which adhere to the microplastic surfaces altering their surface roughness and chemistry. With increasing duration of abrasion the microplastic surface becomes coated with mineral fragments changing the dominant surface element from carbon to oxygen and silicon reflecting the composition of the erodents. The coating develops more rapidly when microplastics are abraded with angular sediments as these produce a lot of small fragments within the first 1-2 hours. However, after > 200 hours of abrasion all the erodents had similar effects. A model of microplastic surface change is presented in which the plastic cracks and fractures, then flattens alongside the increasing density of sediment fragment cover. Surface changes may affect the ability of the plastics to transport airborne contaminants.