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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Generation of Eroded Nanoplastics from Real World Wastes and Their Capacity for Heavy Metal Adsorption
ClearMechanistic description of lead sorption onto nanoplastics
Researchers investigated the mechanisms by which nanoplastics in the environment adsorb lead and other metal contaminants. The study found that despite growing recognition of nanoplastic presence in ecosystems, the processes by which these tiny particles carry and transport metals remain poorly understood. The findings contribute to a better understanding of how nanoplastics may serve as vectors for spreading heavy metal contamination through the environment.
Kinetics and Size Effects on Adsorption of Cu(II), Cr(III), and Pb(II) Onto Polyethylene, Polypropylene, and Polyethylene Terephthalate Microplastic Particles
Researchers investigated how copper, chromium, and lead ions adsorb onto polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET microplastic particles of different sizes. The study found that smaller microplastic particles had greater adsorption capacity for heavy metals, with lead showing the highest adsorption levels, particularly on PET particles, suggesting increased environmental risk when tiny microplastics and heavy metals coexist.
Enhancing Pb Adsorption on Crushed Microplastics: Insights into the Environmental Remediation
Researchers found that crushed microplastics generated during plastic recycling have significantly higher capacity to absorb lead than primary microplastics, due to their greater surface area and more reactive surfaces. Factors like particle size, water pH, salinity, and biofilm formation all influenced how much lead the particles could adsorb. The study raises concerns that the recycling process itself may create a secondary environmental hazard by producing microplastics that more efficiently concentrate toxic heavy metals.
Potential of Adsorption of Diverse Environmental Contaminants onto Microplastics
Researchers assessed the ability of four common types of microplastics to adsorb hazardous environmental contaminants including dyes and heavy metals. They found that dyes were adsorbed through physical processes while heavy metal adsorption varied by plastic type, with polystyrene showing the highest capacity for certain metals. The study confirms that microplastics can act as vectors for diverse pollutants, potentially increasing the environmental mobility and bioavailability of toxic substances.
Comparative analysis of kinetics and mechanisms for Pb(II) sorption onto three kinds of microplastics
The sorption kinetics and mechanisms of lead (Pb(II)) onto three types of microplastics were compared to understand how plastic debris concentrates heavy metals in aquatic environments. The study found polymer-specific differences in sorption capacity and mechanism, with implications for how microplastics alter the distribution and bioavailability of lead in contaminated water.
Microplastics as adsorbent for Pb2+ and Cd2+: A comparative study of polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, high-density polyethylene, and low-density polyethylene
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.
Are nanoplastics able to bind significant amount of metals? The lead example
Researchers tested the capacity of beach-derived nanoplastics to bind lead, finding that while nanoplastics showed some metal binding, the quantity bound was small compared to other environmental colloids, limiting their role as significant metal vectors.
Adsorption behavior of heavy metals onto microplastics derived from conventional and biodegradable commercial plastic products
Researchers tested how well different types of microplastics, including both conventional and biodegradable plastics, absorb heavy metals like lead, nickel, copper, zinc, and cadmium from water. They found that all microplastic types could pick up significant amounts of heavy metals, with biodegradable plastics sometimes absorbing even more than conventional ones. This is concerning because microplastics carrying heavy metals could deliver a double dose of contamination to organisms that ingest them.
Evaluation of microplastic contamination by metals in a controlled environment: A risk to be considered
Researchers found that polyethylene terephthalate microplastics readily adsorb nickel, copper, and zinc metals in aquatic environments, demonstrating that degraded plastics can act as carriers for metal contaminants and pose compounded environmental risks.
Interactions of pristine and aged nanoplastics with heavy metals: Enhanced adsorption and transport in saturated porous media
Researchers found that UV-aged nanoplastics had greater capacity to adsorb and transport lead and cadmium through porous media compared to pristine nanoplastics, due to increased oxygen-containing surface groups that enhance heavy metal binding.
Study on the Adsorption Behavior and Mechanism of Heavy Metals in Aquatic Environment before and after the Aging of Typical Microplastics
Researchers investigated the adsorption behavior and mechanisms of heavy metals by typical microplastics before and after environmental aging, finding that aging significantly alters microplastics' surface properties and capacity to bind metals such as cadmium and lead in aquatic systems.
Effects of particle size and aging on heavy metal adsorption by polypropylene and polystyrene microplastics under varying environmental conditions
This study found that smaller and weathered microplastics absorb significantly more lead and copper from water than larger or newer particles. Since microplastics in the real world are constantly aging and breaking into smaller pieces, they may become increasingly effective at concentrating toxic metals that can then enter the food chain and potentially affect human health.
The potential of microplastics as carriers of metals
Five types of microplastics were tested for their ability to adsorb heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) in different water matrices, finding significant adsorption of lead, chromium, and zinc—especially on polyethylene and PVC—with surface area and porosity as key drivers. The study identifies microplastics as potential vectors for heavy metal transport and transfer through aquatic food chains.
Evaluation of microplastic contamination by metals in a controlled environment: A risk to be considered
Researchers found that PET microplastics readily adsorb nickel, copper, and cobalt under controlled conditions, confirming that metal contamination of microplastics in aquatic systems represents a compounding environmental risk worth monitoring.
Concomitant presence of nanosized plastics and metal(loid)s: is there cause for alarm? State-of-the-art and recommendations for future studies
This review assessed the co-occurrence of nanoplastics and metal(loid)s in the environment, finding that nanoplastics can adsorb and transport heavy metals, potentially amplifying toxicity through combined exposure and calling for integrated risk assessment approaches.
Microplastics aged in various environmental media exhibited strong sorption to heavy metals in seawater
Researchers aged six types of microplastics — including polyamide and PET — in different environments and then measured their adsorption of heavy metals in seawater, finding that aging consistently increased metal sorption capacity and that environmental medium during aging strongly influenced the degree of surface modification.
Adsorption behaviour of accelerated UV aged PET and PP microplastics towards Pb(II) under varying pH, temperature, and salinity conditions
UV aging causes PET and PP microplastics to adsorb significantly more lead (Pb) from water, with the extent varying by pH, temperature, and salinity. This means weathered microplastics in the environment may carry greater toxic metal loads than virgin plastic, amplifying their hazard to ecosystems and human health.
Effect of biofilm colonization on Pb(II) adsorption onto poly(butylene succinate) microplastic during its biodegradation
Researchers found that biofilm colonization on biodegradable PBS microplastics during degradation increased lead adsorption roughly tenfold compared to virgin plastic, suggesting that degrading biodegradable plastics may concentrate heavy metals more effectively in aquatic environments.
Competitive adsorption of lead and cadmium onto nanoplastics with different charges: Two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy study
Researchers investigated how nanoplastics with different surface charges compete to adsorb the heavy metals lead and cadmium, finding that negatively charged nanoplastics bound more of both metals and that lead consistently outcompeted cadmium for binding sites. These results reveal that the surface chemistry of nanoplastics shapes their capacity to carry toxic metals through the environment, with implications for combined heavy-metal and nanoplastic risk in aquatic ecosystems.
Chemical reactivity of weathered nanoplastics and their interactions with heavy metals
Researchers examined the chemical reactivity of weathered nanoplastics following abiotic and biotic degradation processes, finding that weathering substantially alters the surface chemistry of nanoplastics and enhances their capacity to interact with and facilitate the transformation of legacy heavy metal contaminants in the environment.
Microplastic and heavy metal interactions (adsorption and desorption) at different salinities
Researchers examined adsorption and desorption of heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn) onto polypropylene, polyethylene, and other microplastic types at varying concentrations and salinities, finding PP particles absorbed the most metal but also released it most slowly compared to other polymers.
Adsorption of three bivalent metals by four chemical distinct microplastics
Researchers measured the sorption of copper, cadmium, and lead onto four types of microplastic particles — including chlorinated PE, PVC, and two PE variants — finding that higher crystallinity and surface area drove greater metal adsorption, and that all four plastics had different capacities for each metal.
Microplastics inhibit lead binding to sediment components: Influence of surface functional groups and charge environment
Researchers systematically investigated interactions among lead, polystyrene microplastics, and sediment components to understand how microplastics affect heavy metal behavior in aquatic environments. The study found that polystyrene significantly inhibited lead adsorption to sediment by competing for binding sites, reducing lead uptake by up to 28%, which suggests that microplastics could increase the mobility of toxic metals in contaminated waterways.
Study on the capability and characteristics of heavy metals enriched on microplastics in marine environment
Laboratory and field experiments examined heavy metal adsorption on five plastic types (PVC, PP, PE, PA, POM), finding that PVC and PP had the highest adsorption capacity for lead and manganese, with field results showing that PP adsorbed metals at concentrations orders of magnitude higher than co-adsorbed PAHs. The study provides direct comparative data on microplastic-metal interactions across polymer types in marine environments.