We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Investigation for Synergies of Ionic Strength and Flow Velocity on Colloidal-Sized Microplastic Transport and Deposition in Porous Media Using the Colloidal–AFM Probe
AI summary Read the abstract
Experiments showed that both water flow speed and salt concentration work together to control how microplastic particles stick to and move through sand and soil. Understanding these combined effects is important for predicting how microplastics travel through groundwater and contaminate water supplies.
Studies that explore the transport and retention behavior of colloidal-sized microplastic (MP) with focusing on the governing mechanisms for their attachment and detachment process using colloidal-atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) were still limited. In the present study, multiscale investigations ranging from pore-scale column test to microscale visualization and eventually to nanoscale interfacial and adhesive force measurement were conducted. Pore- and microscale tests were conducted at various flow velocity and over a broad range of IS values and found that IS and flow velocity could synergically impact the deposition of MPs during filtration, in particular under unfavorable condition at small flow velocity. The net difference between the highest and lowest deposition conditions became smaller while flow velocity was decreasing in porous media. However, the net difference between the high and low IS conditions in parallel plate chamber were not sensitive to the change of flow velocity. The measurement from C-AFM suggested that not only the interfacial force but also the adhesive forces changed while MP was approaching/retracting to the collector surface. Information related to the magnitude, location, and occurrence of interfacial/adhesive forces were analyzed. Comparisons of the interaction energy determined from the measured force and ones derived from surface energy components using DLVO theory were conducted to explain the synergies of IS and flow velocity on pathogenic size MPs transport and deposition during filtration.
More Papers Like This
Transport of polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate and polymethyl methacrylate microplastics in porous media under gradient ionic strength
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers used column experiments to study how four types of microplastics — polypropylene, PVC, PET, and PMMA — move through soil-like porous media under different salt concentrations. They found that increasing salinity reduces microplastic mobility by causing particles to stick to sand surfaces, which has implications for predicting how far microplastics can travel through soils to reach groundwater.
Transport and retention of polyethylene microplastics in saturated porous media: Effect of physicochemical properties
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics move through water-saturated sand and gravel, testing the effects of particle size, water chemistry, and flow speed. They found that smaller microplastics traveled farther through the porous material, while higher salt concentrations and lower flow rates increased particle retention. The findings help explain how microplastics may spread through groundwater systems under real-world conditions.
Soil water, salt, and microplastics interact during migration: Performance and mechanism
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers studied how microplastics and salt interact as they move through farmland soil, finding that salty conditions slow both water flow and microplastic migration, while microplastics in turn hinder the leaching of harmful salts like sodium from the soil. These complex interactions are important for understanding how contaminated agricultural soils behave and how to manage them.
Transport behavior of micro polyethylene particles in saturated quartz sand: Impacts of input concentration and physicochemical factors
AI summary Read the abstract
Laboratory sand column experiments showed that polyethylene microplastic transport is inhibited by high ionic strength (as it reduces the repulsion between particles and sand grains) but enhanced by fulvic acid (which increases surface charge repulsion). The study provides mechanistic data for predicting how microplastics move through soils under different environmental chemical conditions.
Microplastics/nanoplastics in porous media: Key factors controlling their transport and retention behaviors
AI summary Read the abstract
This review examines what controls how microplastics and nanoplastics move through soil and other porous materials like sand and sediment. Factors like particle size, shape, surface charge, water flow speed, and the presence of other pollutants all influence whether plastics stay in place or travel deeper into groundwater. Understanding these transport behaviors is important for assessing the risk of microplastics contaminating underground drinking water sources.
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.