Papers

Microplastics exacerbate heavy metal pollution stress in the surface water of a mining city: Occurrence, drivers, and vector effects

Researchers studied the co-occurrence of microplastics and heavy metals in surface water of a coal mining city and found that microplastics act as vectors that exacerbate heavy metal transport and pollution. The study identified key drivers of combined contamination from mining activities, farmland reclamation, and urban runoff. The findings suggest that microplastics in mining regions amplify the environmental risks of heavy metal pollution by carrying and concentrating toxic metals.

The vertical distribution characteristics and influencing factors of microplastics in soils around the Linhuan Industrial Park

An efficient and precise (micro)plastic identification method: feature infrared spectra extraction based on EIS-VIP-CARS and ANN modeling

Researchers developed a novel microplastic identification method combining equal interval sampling, variable importance in projection scoring, and competitive adaptive reweighted sampling to extract key infrared spectral features for artificial neural network classification. The approach reduces computational load and improves accuracy compared to standard CARS-based methods by preserving transmittance peaks during feature selection.

Experimental Study on Removal of Iron,Manganese and Copper from Waterby Microalgae

Researchers tested four types of microalgae for their ability to remove iron, manganese, and copper from water, finding that all could effectively absorb these metals. Microalgae show promise as low-cost, biological water treatment agents for removing heavy metals often co-occurring with microplastic pollution.

Spatial Variations of Aquatic Bacterial Community Structure and Co-Occurrence Patterns in a Coal Mining Subsidence Lake

Bacterial communities in a coal mining subsidence lake and a connected river were characterized spatially, revealing distinct microbial assemblages at different locations. Mining disturbance altered the lake's physical and chemical conditions, which shaped microbial community structure and species interactions. Understanding these communities is important for assessing the ecological recovery potential of post-mining aquatic environments.