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Gut & Microbiome
Remediation
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Effects of biofilm colonization on the sinking of microplastics in three freshwater environments
Journal of Hazardous Materials2021
155 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 50
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Tanveer M. Adyel
Jun Hou,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Zhilin Liu,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Jun Hou,
Zhilin Liu,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Jun Hou,
Jun Hou,
Jun Hou,
Jun Hou,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Jun Hou,
Jun Hou,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Yuxuan Gao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Jun Hou,
Jun Hou,
Jun Hou,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Tanveer M. Adyel
Jun Hou,
Jun Wu,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Tanveer M. Adyel
Tanveer M. Adyel
Tanveer M. Adyel
Zongli Huo,
Lingzhan Miao,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Jun Hou,
Lingzhan Miao,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Jun Hou,
Jun Hou,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Tanveer M. Adyel
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Jun Wu,
Lingzhan Miao,
Zhilin Liu,
Zongli Huo,
Zhilin Liu,
Jun Hou,
Jun Hou,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Jun Hou,
Jun Hou,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Lingzhan Miao,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Jun Wu,
Zhilin Liu,
Zhilin Liu,
Zhilin Liu,
Zhilin Liu,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Jun Wu,
Jun Hou,
Lingzhan Miao,
Zongli Huo,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Lingzhan Miao,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Lingzhan Miao,
Jun Hou,
Jun Hou,
Lingzhan Miao,
Jun Hou,
Jun Hou,
Jun Hou,
Lingzhan Miao,
Zhilin Liu,
Jun Hou,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Jun Hou,
Jun Hou,
Zongli Huo,
Jun Hou,
Jun Hou,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Jun Hou,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Tanveer M. Adyel
Jun Hou,
Jun Hou,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Jun Hou,
Tanveer M. Adyel
Summary
A 44-day freshwater incubation experiment showed that biofilm colonization on PET, PP, and PVC microplastics promoted sinking in three Chinese water bodies, with biomass and chlorophyll levels varying by environment and influencing the rate of buoyancy change.
Microplastics (MPs) have frequently been detected in freshwater environments, and there is growing concern about their ecological effects, especially the influence of the "plastisphere" on the freshwater ecosystems. The colonization of microbes on MPs would significantly alter their transport behavior, i.e., buoyancy, in fresh water. In this research, we studied the effects of biofilm colonization on the sinking and floating of three MPs, i.e., polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), after 44 days of incubation in three freshwater systems (the Niushoushan River, the Qinhuai River, and East Lake) in China. The results showed that the biofilms attached to the three MPs contained different biomass and chlorophyll-a levels were related to water environmental conditions and physicochemical properties of MPs, based on redundancy analysis. Generally, PET and PVC sinking, with density higher than water, tended to increase after biofilm formation. Thereafter, the settling velocity of biofouled PET and PVC squares became faster than that of the virgin ones. In summary, our study suggested that biofouling does affect the sinking of MPs in fresh water and consequently influences the transport behavior and the distribution characteristics of MPs in freshwater environments, and this issue deserves more scientific attention.