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Adsorption of microplastics on aquifer media: Effects of the action time, initial concentration, ionic strength, ionic types and dissolved organic matter
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This study examined how various environmental factors influence the adsorption of polystyrene microplastics onto aquifer sand media, finding that fine sand adsorbed more particles than coarser media and that increasing initial concentration linearly increased adsorption capacity. Higher ionic strength of ammonium reduced electrostatic repulsion between negatively charged microplastics and sand, enhancing retention.
The adsorption of microplastic (MPs) on aquifer media is affected by their own properties and environmental factors. Research results have shown that the adsorption capacity of MPs on the three media has the following order: fine sand > medium sand > coarse sand, and the adsorption equilibrium times are 8 h, 12 h and 24 h, respectively. The adsorption process has three stages (fast linear distribution, slow adsorption and equilibrium stability), and the action law is compounded by the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation. After adsorption, MPs were observed on the three media, and there were single existence and aggregation phenomena. The energy spectrum analysis indicates that elemental carbon (C) appears on the surface of the medium after the action occurs, and the surface of the media adsorbs MPs to varying degrees. According to the results of infrared spectroscopy, after action, the peak areas of the absorption peaks at 680-880 cm and 1450-1620 cm increase. The absorption peaks are mainly C-H out-of-plane bending vibrations from aromatic hydrocarbons and C-H stretching vibrations on the benzene ring skeleton. As the initial concentration increases, the equilibrium adsorption capacity increases linearly. The isothermal adsorption of MPs in porous media conforms to the Freundlich model. The adsorption process is also affected by different anions and cations. The higher the ionic strength of NH is, the weaker the electrostatic effect of negatively charged MPs, thereby increasing the adsorption capacity of microplastics on porous media. Ca can promote the adsorption of MPs by the media through the formation of ternary complexes between cations, MPs and surface functional groups. The increase in SO and HCO concentrations gradually inhibits the adsorption of MPs.
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