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Effects of polyamide microplastics on the adsorption of perfluoroalkyl substances in soil
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This study found that polyamide microplastics in soil significantly affect how PFAS (including PFOA and GenX) are adsorbed and retained, with the microplastic-soil mixture behaving differently from either material alone. Since both microplastics and PFAS are widespread soil contaminants, their co-occurrence could change the mobility and bioavailability of these toxic 'forever chemicals,' complicating risk assessments.
Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and novel PFAS are continuously detected in soil environments and have attracted increasing attention. The presence of microplastics (MP) in soil systems is of increasing concern worldwide. However, the effects of MP on PFAS adsorption by soil systems remain largely unexplored. In this study, we compared the adsorption behavior of four PFAS on polyamide microplastics (PAMP), polyamide microplastic - soil mixtures (PAMP+soil), and soil to investigate the effects of MP on the adsorption of PFAS in soil. The results show that the four PFAS Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonic acid (6:2FTSA), Perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS) and Perfluorinated (2-methyl-3-oxohexanoic acid) (GenX) present different adsorption behaviors onto PAMP, PAMP+soil and soil due to their different physicochemical properties. However, similar laws are founded that the adsorption capacity of PAMP, with respect to the four PFAS, is stronger than that of PAMP+soil (20–56 times), followed by that of soil (72–122 times). PAMP amends into soil greatly inhibits the adsorption capacity of PAMP because their surfaces are covered with soil particles or biofilms. The inhibition rate decreases with increasing PAMP dosage. However, the addition of PAMP to soil significantly enhances the adsorption of PFAS compared with that of soil alone. This enhancement indicates that the input of MP into the soil might reduce the mobility of PFAS by improving the adsorption capacity of the soil. Furthermore, the co-culture time of PAMP and soil mixture has a slight impact on adsorption, suggesting that the effect of MP on soil adsorption of PFAS is almost stable. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the effects of PAMP in soil on the environmental behavior of PFAS and provide a valuable reference for evaluating the potential risk posed by the co-existence of MP and organic contaminants in soil ecosystems.
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This study tested how PFAS ("forever chemicals") interact with 18 different types of microplastic and found that polyamide (nylon) plastics absorbed up to 100% of the PFAS in solution. Since both PFAS and microplastics are widespread environmental pollutants, their ability to bind together means microplastics may act as carriers that concentrate and transport these harmful chemicals into water, soil, and ultimately the human body.
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Microplastics in soil (from things like compost, sewage sludge, and irrigation water) can sometimes team up with "forever chemicals" (PFAS) and carry them further into the environment, but this review of 37 studies found it's not a guaranteed effect, since it depends heavily on the type of plastic, soil conditions, and chemical properties involved. This matters because PFAS and microplastics both end up in the food we grow, but scientists still don't know exactly when or how much plastics make PFAS contamination worse, so more real-world (not just lab) testing is needed before we can say how big a risk this combo poses to our food and health
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This chapter reviewed the interactions between microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soil, examining how these two persistent pollutants interact and co-transport through soil profiles. Their combined presence can amplify environmental risks by facilitating PFAS mobility and bioavailability beyond what either contaminant achieves independently.
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Researchers studied how perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of persistent industrial chemicals, bind to polyamide microplastics in water. They found that smaller microplastic particles absorbed dramatically more PFAS than larger ones, and that water chemistry conditions like pH and salinity influenced the process. The findings suggest microplastics can concentrate harmful chemicals and potentially increase human and wildlife exposure to PFAS in contaminated environments.
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