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Environmental Sources
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Polyethylene microplastics influence the transport of organic contaminants in soil
The Science of The Total Environment2018
320 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.
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thilo Hofmann
Sophie Slawek,
Gabriel Sigmund,
Florian Metzelder,
Sophie Slawek,
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Florian Metzelder,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thilo Hofmann
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Thilo Hofmann
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Florian Metzelder,
Florian Metzelder,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Gabriel Sigmund,
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thilo Hofmann
Gabriel Sigmund,
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Sophie Slawek,
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thilo Hofmann
Sophie Slawek,
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thilo Hofmann
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thilo Hofmann
Thorsten Hüffer,
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thilo Hofmann
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Thilo Hofmann
Gabriel Sigmund,
Thilo Hofmann
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thilo Hofmann
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Gabriel Sigmund,
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Thilo Hofmann
Thilo Hofmann
Thorsten Hüffer,
Thilo Hofmann
Torsten C. Schmidt,
Thilo Hofmann
Summary
Laboratory experiments showed that polyethylene microplastics in soil altered the transport and distribution of organic contaminants, acting as secondary carriers that changed contaminant mobility through the soil matrix. The findings suggest microplastics in agricultural soils could inadvertently redistribute pesticides and other pollutants, with implications for groundwater quality.
Plastics are now found in all natural environments including soil. The effects of microplastics in terrestrial systems, however, remain largely unexplored. Polyethylene is one of the mass-manufactured polymers found in terrestrial environments. It is used in many different sectors, for example in agricultural mulches, composite materials, and packaging. The presence of microplastics in soil, including polyethylene, can affect the transport of hydrophobic organic pollutants including pesticides. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of polyethylene microplastics (<250 μm) on the transport of two selected organic plant-protection agents (atrazine and 4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy) butyric acid) in soil under different aqueous conditions, using inverse liquid chromatography. The distribution coefficients for the sorbates that were sorbed to pure polyethylene microplastic were found to be significantly smaller than those for the sorbates sorbed to pure soil. The addition of 10% (w/w) polyethylene to the soil therefore led to an overall reduction in sorption, but the sorption trends due to variations in pH and ionic strength were not affected. The results imply that the presence of polyethylene microplastics in soil may therefore increase the mobility of organic contaminants by reducing the sorption capacity of natural soils, which must be validated by further research.