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Emerging investigator series: suspended air nanobubbles in water can shuttle polystyrene nanoplastics to the air–water interface
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Nanobubbles suspended in water can physically carry nanoplastic particles to the air-water interface and concentrate them there, but only when the repulsive electrical charge between the particles and bubbles is reduced by adjusting pH. This discovery points toward a potential low-energy method for removing nanoplastics from water, which is currently one of the hardest fractions of plastic pollution to filter out.
Suspended nanoplastics can be removed from the water column with nanobubbles if interparticle repulsive forces are overcome by pH adjustment.
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