We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Cotransport of nanoplastics (NPs) with fullerene (C60) in saturated sand: Effect of NPs/C60 ratio and seawater salinity
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers investigated the cotransport of nanoplastics with fullerene (C60) in seawater-saturated sand columns, finding that nanoplastic-to-C60 ratios and seawater salinity significantly influenced transport behavior and the mobility of these combined contaminants through sediment.
Nanoplastics (NPs) have been identified as newly emerging particulate contaminants. In marine environments, the interaction between NPs and other engineered nanoparticles remains unknown. This study investigated the cotransport of NPs with fullerene (C) in seawater-saturated columns packed with natural sand as affected by the mass concentration ratio of NPs/C and the hydrochemical characteristics. In seawater with 35 practical salinity units (PSU), NPs could remarkably enhance C dispersion with a NPs/C ratio of 1. NPs behaved as a vehicle to facilitate C transport by decreasing colloidal ζ-potential and forming stable primary heteroaggregates. As the NPs/C ratio decreased to 1/3, NPs mobility was progressively restrained because of the formation of large secondary aggregates. When the ratio continuously decreased to 1/10, the stability and transport of colloids were governed by C rather than NPs. Under this condition, the transport trend of binary suspensions was similar to that of single C suspension, which was characterized by a ripening phenomenon. Seawater salinity is another key factor affecting the stability and associated transport of NPs and C. In seawater with 3.5 PSU, NPs and C (1:1) in binary suspension exhibited colloidal dispersion, which was driven by a high-energy barrier. Thus, the profiles of the cotransport and retention of NPs/C resembled those of single NPs suspension. This work demonstrated that the cotransport of NPs/C strongly depended on their mass concentration ratios and seawater salinity.
More Papers Like This
Nanoplastics dominate the cotransport of small-scale plastics in seawater-saturated porous media
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers found that nanoplastics dominated cotransport behavior when mixed with submicro- and microplastics in seawater-saturated sandy porous media, with particle-particle interactions significantly altering transport distances compared to single-component systems.
Cotransport of naphthalene with polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNP) in saturated porous media: Effects of PSNP/naphthalene ratio and ionic strength
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers examined the cotransport of naphthalene with polystyrene nanoplastics in saturated sand columns and found that varying the nanoplastic-to-naphthalene ratio and ionic strength significantly influenced the mobility of both contaminants, confirming nanoplastics as effective carriers of hydrophobic organic pollutants in porous media.
Nanoplastics as carriers of organic pollutants in seawater-saturated porous media: a quantitative comparison of transport pathways
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers quantitatively compared transport pathways of non-polar organic pollutants carried by nanoplastics through seawater-saturated porous media, demonstrating that the carrier effect of nanoplastics is the primary mechanism inhibiting pollutant migration and enabling their co-transport in coastal and marine subsurface environments.
Role of surface functionalities of nanoplastics on their transport in seawater-saturated sea sand
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers examined the transport of surface-functionalized nanoplastics through seawater-saturated sea sand, finding that carboxyl-functionalized particles had the highest mobility while positively charged amino-functionalized particles showed lowest recovery due to stronger attraction to sand surfaces and homoaggregation.
Aging and salinity jointly control the co-transport mechanisms of nanoplastics and 4-nonylphenol in estuarine soils: Multi-scale insights from molecular interaction to pore network evolution
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers combined soil column experiments, micro-CT imaging, and molecular dynamics simulations to trace how nanoplastic aging and salinity jointly control the co-transport of nanoplastics and the organic pollutant 4-nonylphenol through estuarine soils, finding that aging reversed nanoplastic behavior from a pollutant trap to a mobile carrier, that salinity amplified aggregation and pore blockage, and that hydrogen bonding between aged particle surfaces and the contaminant molecule drove the system's dynamics.
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.