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Environmental factors-mediated behavior of microplastics and nanoplastics in water: A review
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This review examines how environmental conditions such as pH, salt levels, and organic matter influence how microplastics and nanoplastics behave in water. The study found that these factors significantly affect whether tiny plastic particles clump together or stay dispersed, which in turn determines how far they travel and how available they are for organisms to ingest.
The release of plastics in nature is an increasing global concern due to their degradation from microplastics (MPs) and even to nanoplastics (NPs), which are being recognized as a potential global threat to humans and environment. This paper summarizes the current knowledge on the effect of different environmental factors on the aggregation of MPs and NPs in aquatic environment. Stability (or extent of aggregation) of MPs and NPs varies with pH, ionic strength, ion type (monovalent, divalent, and trivalent), kind of minerals, and natural organic matter (NOM) of the aquatic environment. Electrostatic interactions between particles at different pH and ionic strength caused by salts of different valents govern the aggregation. In the presence of minerals (or inorganic colloids), net surface charge of mineral and surface potential of MPs and NPs (i.e., positive or negative surface functionality) play important roles in the heteroaggregation of MPs and NPs. In the presence of NOM, additional complex interactions including hydrophobic interactions and bridging are also involved in the aggregation of particles. Understanding the interactions of MPs and NPs of different surface charge with diverse environmental factors at a wide range of environmental conditions is pivotal to assess the mobility and the fate of degraded plastic particles and their risk to human health and ecological systems.
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A review of microplastics aggregation in aquatic environment: Influence factors, analytical methods, and environmental implications
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This review examines how microplastics clump together in aquatic environments, a behavior called aggregation that affects where they end up and how available they are to organisms. Researchers evaluated the factors that influence aggregation, including water chemistry, particle size, and the presence of natural organic matter. The study identifies important gaps in field research and calls for standardized methods to better understand how aggregation shapes the environmental fate of microplastics.
Investigating Particle Composition and Aquatic Chemistry Impacts on Microplastic Aggregation Behavior Through the Use of Nanopolymer-Nanoparticle Composites
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This study used metal-tagged nano-polymer particles to investigate how particle composition and aquatic chemistry (pH, ionic strength) affect microplastic aggregation and transport in water. Different minerals in the water column influenced whether microplastics stayed dispersed or clumped together. The findings improve predictions of microplastic behavior and fate in natural water environments.
Assessing the size transformation of nanoplastics in natural water matrices
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Researchers studied how nanoplastics change in size when placed in different types of natural water, including freshwater and seawater. They found that factors like pH, salt content, and dissolved organic matter significantly influenced whether the particles clumped together or remained small. The findings are important for understanding how nanoplastics behave in real-world aquatic environments and assessing their potential risks.
Understanding the stability of nanoplastics in aqueous environments: effect of ionic strength, temperature, dissolved organic matter, clay, and heavy metals
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This study examined how environmental factors including ionic strength, temperature, dissolved organic matter, and clay affect the stability and aggregation of nanoplastics in water, finding that these conditions significantly influence particle behavior. Understanding nanoplastic stability is critical for predicting their fate, transport, and bioavailability in aquatic systems.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.