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Microplastics through the Lens of Colloid Science
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This review argued that applying colloid science principles to microplastics research can improve understanding of their environmental behavior, since the physicochemical characteristics of sub-millimeter plastic particles diverge significantly from their macroscopic counterparts.
Microplastics are sub-millimeter-sized fragments of plastics and a relatively new class of pollutant increasingly found in the environment. Due to their size and surface area to volume ratio, the physicochemical characteristics of microplastics can diverge from those of their macroscopic counterparts. This is partly why it is challenging to understand their origin, analyze their behavior, and predict their fates in the environment compared to large pollutants. We believe that adopting a view of microplastics as a colloid provides a holistic framework that connects their physical properties and surface chemistries with observations of their dynamics in the environment. In particular, we discuss the role of fundamental principles of colloid science in interpreting phenomena of wetting, adsorption, aggregation, and transport of microplastics. Colloid and interface science can provide the tools to couple or decouple the physicochemical behaviors of microplastics, which may aid in understanding the environmental challenge both from a fundamental perspective and with respect to practical remediation methods.
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Colloid and Interface Science for Understanding Microplastics and Developing Remediation Strategies
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This perspective article argues that principles from colloid and interface science are essential for understanding how microplastics behave in the environment. Researchers explain how surface chemistry, particle shape, and roughness govern how microplastics interact with water, soil, and other pollutants. The study identifies wastewater treatment plants as critical hotspots where microplastics accumulate in sludge and get reintroduced to the environment through agricultural application.
Role of the Protein Corona in the Colloidal Behavior of Microplastics
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Researchers investigated how protein coronas form on polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics in biological media, finding that proteins act as surfactants that alter the colloidal behavior and stability of microplastics in aquatic environments.
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This review examines how microplastics behave as colloidal particles in water, generating surface charges that drive interactions with other contaminants and environmental constituents. The study explains that classical colloidal theory can help predict microplastic behavior, and that surface modifications from environmental exposure influence how these particles interact in water systems. Several removal techniques including coagulation, filtration, and air flotation are discussed as potential methods for capturing microplastics in water treatment.
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This study investigated the aggregation behavior of micro- and nanoparticles including microplastics in aquatic systems, developing mechanistic models to understand how water chemistry and particle properties determine whether plastic particles clump together or remain dispersed — affecting their environmental fate and toxicity.
Plastic microbeads from cosmetic products: an experimental study of their hydrodynamic behaviour, vertical transport and resuspension in phytoplankton and sediment aggregates
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Researchers studied the hydrodynamic behavior of plastic microbeads from cosmetic products, finding that their physical properties — size, shape, and density — govern how they disperse and settle in aquatic environments after release from consumer products.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.