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Coaggregation of micro polystyrene particles and suspended minerals under concentrated salt solution: A perspective of terrestrial-to-ocean transfer of microplastics
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Researchers found that polystyrene microplastics co-aggregate with suspended mineral colloids in concentrated salt solutions, with bentonite most efficiently driving aggregation, suggesting that mineral-microplastic aggregates may be an important mechanism for transporting microplastics from terrestrial environments to the ocean.
This study evaluates the colloidal stability of polystyrene microplastics (PSMPs) in the presence of various mineral colloids. Although PSMPs were highly dispersive, they were found to be involved in the aggregation of each mineral colloid. The efficiency of mineral colloids to stimulate the coaggregation of PSMPs follows the order bentonite > kaolinitic soil clay > illitic soil clay > kaolinite > goethite > haematite. Surface charge density is likely a crucial factor that determines the efficiency of mineral colloids. In concentrated salt solution, PSMPs together with mineral colloids can be involved in various continuous and simultaneous electrochemical processes such as charge neutralization, double electric layer compression, van der Waals attraction stimulation and heteroaggregation. These processes may also occur in the estuary environments, where suspended mineral colloids may play an ultimate role in reducing the transport of microplastics into oceans while also intensifying microplastic enrichment in coastal sediments.
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Researchers found that the aggregation behavior of polystyrene microplastics in water was strongly influenced by pH, ionic strength, and the presence of natural organic matter, with divalent cations like calcium and magnesium promoting aggregation. Understanding aggregation kinetics is critical for predicting how microplastics partition between suspended and settled states in natural water bodies.
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Researchers investigated heteroaggregation between polystyrene microplastics and ferrihydrite iron mineral particles, finding that this aggregation process leads to rapid removal of microplastic particles from the water column, with implications for understanding microplastic fate and transport in natural water systems.
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