We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Comparative assessment of cadmium(II) carrier-effects derived by polyethylene microplastics with heterogeneous sources
AI summary Read the abstract
This study investigated whether the source of polyethylene microplastics — bottles, industrial powder, or packaging bags — affects how well they carry the toxic heavy metal cadmium in the environment. Using laboratory experiments, researchers found that source-related differences in surface chemistry meaningfully changed how much cadmium each type of microplastic absorbed and transported, especially as environmental conditions like pH shifted. The findings suggest that treating all microplastics as identical in pollution models may underestimate the real risk in areas dominated by specific plastic waste types.
Microplastics (MPs), as wastes derived from various plastic commodities, have distinct heterogeneity in their sources. The overlook of MP sources may decrease the prediction reliability of their carrier-effects and the execution efficiency of their refined control. Hence, this study focuses the influence of source heterogeneity on the Cd(II) carrier-effect of MPs, aiming to improve the insights on Cd(II)-pollution pattern reshaped by MPs. This study employed three polyethylene (PE) MPs: bottle PE-MPs (BPE), impregnating-powder PE-MPs (IPE), and packaging/bag PE-MPs (PPE), to conduct indoor batch-type adsorption experiments and highlight the controlled variable of source heterogeneity. This study further considered effects of environmental factors (e.g., pH and the presence of fulvic acid (FA)), and made instrument characterization and theoretical simulations (density functional theory, DFT; molecular dynamics, MD) to explain relevant mechanisms. PPE resulted in the highest degree of Cd(Ⅱ) adsorption; BPE resulted in the most flexible desorption capability; and IPE resulted in the greatest adsorption capacity per unit specific surface area, which suggested significant differences among Cd(Ⅱ) carrier-effects of the three PE-MPs. The excellent adsorption capacity of PPE was likely attributed to its abundant pores, larger specific surface area, and additional -OH surface modification. Whereas the three PE-MPs showed consistency in the adsorption model fitting, where the superior fits of the Freundlich over Langmuir models, and the pseudo-second-order over pseudo-first-order models were confirmed for all PE-MPs. Mechanically, after adsorption, the FTIR spectra showed limited new peaks or peak shifts, which implies that the adsorptions of three PE-MPs were dominated by physical interactions. Additionally, this study found that both the increased pH and FA presence promoted Cd(Ⅱ)-adsorption across all three PE-MPs, which mainly owing to the strengthening of electrostatic interactions and the formation of molecular bridging, respectively, according to DFT, MD, and Zeta potentials. This study is expected to provide enlightenment on deciphering the intricate environmental behaviors of MPs with source heterogeneity and advancing source-targeted strategies of MP management.
More Papers Like This
Adsorption characteristics of cadmium onto microplastics from aqueous solutions
AI summary Read the abstract
Laboratory adsorption experiments characterized how cadmium is taken up by microplastics of different polymer types from aqueous solutions, finding adsorption capacity varied significantly with polymer chemistry, particle size, and solution conditions. The results help predict how microplastics in contaminated waterways accumulate and transport cadmium, a highly toxic heavy metal.
Reframing microplastics as a ligand for metals reveals that water quality characteristics govern the association of cadmium to polyethylene
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers reframed microplastics as a chemical ligand for metals and studied how water quality characteristics govern cadmium binding to polyethylene particles. They found that factors like pH, dissolved organic carbon, and water hardness significantly influenced how much cadmium adhered to the plastic surface. The study suggests that the environmental risk of microplastics as metal carriers depends heavily on local water chemistry conditions.
Evaluation of Cd Adsorption Characteristic by Microplastic Polypropylene in Aqueous Solution
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers examined how microplastic polypropylene particles adsorb cadmium from aqueous solutions, finding that the plastic acts as a carrier for this toxic heavy metal. The results suggest that microplastics can accumulate cadmium in aquatic environments and potentially deliver it to organisms that ingest the particles.
Sorption properties of cadmium on microplastics: The common practice experiment and A two-dimensional correlation spectroscopic study
AI summary Read the abstract
Laboratory experiments examined how cadmium adsorbs onto microplastics of different polymer types and aging states, finding that surface chemistry and weathering significantly affect how much heavy metal the plastics can carry. This matters because microplastics contaminated with heavy metals represent a dual pollution risk when ingested by aquatic organisms.
Microplastics as adsorbent for Pb2+ and Cd2+: A comparative study of polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, high-density polyethylene, and low-density polyethylene
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers compared how four common types of microplastics adsorb lead and cadmium heavy metals in aquatic environments. The study found that polypropylene had the highest adsorption capacity for both metals, with oxygen-containing functional groups playing a key role in the adsorption process, suggesting that different microplastic types pose varying levels of environmental risk as heavy metal carriers.
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.