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Is froth flotation a potential scheme for microplastics removal? Analysis on flotation kinetics and surface characteristics
The Science of The Total Environment2021
76 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 45
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Yingshuang Zhang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Hui Wang,
Hongru Jiang,
Hongru Jiang,
Chongqing Wang
Chongqing Wang
Hongru Jiang,
Hongru Jiang,
Chongqing Wang
Hongru Jiang,
Hongru Jiang,
Hui Wang,
Hongru Jiang,
Hongru Jiang,
Chongqing Wang
Chongqing Wang
Kai Bian,
Hongru Jiang,
Hongru Jiang,
Hongru Jiang,
Hongru Jiang,
Hongru Jiang,
Hongru Jiang,
Chongqing Wang
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Hui Wang,
Chongqing Wang
Hongru Jiang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Chongqing Wang
Kai Bian,
Kai Bian,
Hui Wang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Hongru Jiang,
Kai Bian,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Kai Bian,
Kai Bian,
Kai Bian,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Chongqing Wang
Hui Wang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Kai Bian,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Kai Bian,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Hongru Jiang,
Hui Wang,
Chongqing Wang
Hui Wang,
Chongqing Wang
Chongqing Wang
Chongqing Wang
Chongqing Wang
Chongqing Wang
Chongqing Wang
Hongru Jiang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Chongqing Wang
Hui Wang,
Chongqing Wang
Chongqing Wang
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Chongqing Wang
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Chongqing Wang
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Chongqing Wang
Chongqing Wang
Chongqing Wang
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Chongqing Wang
Hongru Jiang,
Hongru Jiang,
Hongru Jiang,
Chongqing Wang
Hui Wang,
Chongqing Wang
Chongqing Wang
Hui Wang,
Hui Wang,
Hongru Jiang,
Yingshuang Zhang,
Chongqing Wang
Chongqing Wang
Chongqing Wang
Hui Wang,
Chongqing Wang
Hongru Jiang,
Chongqing Wang
Chongqing Wang
Summary
This study evaluated froth flotation as a method for removing microplastics from water, finding that surface hydrophobicity governs flotation efficiency and that the technique shows promise as a scalable treatment option for certain polymer types.
Increasing microplastics (MPs) cause significant threats to the ecosystem and society. The tremendous advances concerning the sources, occurrence, chemical behavior, toxicology, and ecological effects contribute to the emerging MPs removal. Based on the intrinsic hydrophobicity of MPs, froth flotation can remove MPs from water environments via bubble attachment on hydrophobic surfaces. This study comprehensively investigated plastic, aqueous, and operating variables in the flotation removal of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS) MPs, assisted by numerous bench-scale experiments and a first-order model with rectangular distribution of floatability. Froth flotation performed better to remove MPs with higher density, larger size, and lower concentration. K (0-50 mM), Na (0-150 mM), and Ca (0-10 mM) did not affect the flotation recovery of MPs. MPs particles could be thoroughly removed by froth flotation when humic acid (HA) and Al concentrations were less than 30 mg/L and 0.05 mM, respectively. 100% of MPs could be removed at a rapid flotation rate under aeration volume of 5.4 mL/min and frother dosage of 28 mg/L. Non-covalent interactions and near-surface water film might favor the adhesion of hydrophilic species and obstruct the flotation removal of MPs. The froth flotation-based MPs removal had potential application in multiple flow systems due to its simplicity and continuity.