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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Understanding microplastic flotation through microbubble-microplastic interactions
ClearInfluence of ionic surfactant contaminants on polystyrene-air bubble interactions for microplastics removal from wastewater
Researchers investigated how ionic surfactants present in municipal and industrial wastewater affect the efficiency of froth flotation for removing polystyrene microplastics. Surfactant type and concentration strongly influenced bubble-particle interactions, with some surfactants dramatically reducing removal efficiency, highlighting a challenge for flotation-based MP removal systems.
Is froth flotation a potential scheme for microplastics removal? Analysis on flotation kinetics and surface characteristics
This study evaluated froth flotation as a method for removing microplastics from water, finding that surface hydrophobicity governs flotation efficiency and that the technique shows promise as a scalable treatment option for certain polymer types.
Nanoscale interaction mechanism between bubbles and microplastics under the influence of natural organic matter in simulated marine environment
Researchers used atomic force microscopy to measure the nanoscale interactions between air bubbles and different types of microplastics in simulated seawater. They found that hydrophobic plastics like polystyrene and PVC showed stronger bubble attachment than hydrophilic ones, and that humic acid in the water significantly weakened these interactions. The study suggests that natural organic matter in oceans may reduce the tendency of microplastics to be carried to the surface by bubbles, affecting how they circulate in marine environments.
Nanoscale insight into the interaction mechanism underlying the transport of microplastics by bubbles in aqueous environment
Nanoscale experiments revealed that bubble capture of microplastics in water is governed by hydrophobic interactions and surface charge complementarity between bubbles and MP particles. Understanding these mechanisms is critical for modeling the role of bubbles in transporting MPs from water to air-water interfaces and across environmental compartments.
Emerging investigator series: suspended air nanobubbles in water can shuttle polystyrene nanoplastics to the air–water interface
Nanobubbles suspended in water can physically carry nanoplastic particles to the air-water interface and concentrate them there, but only when the repulsive electrical charge between the particles and bubbles is reduced by adjusting pH. This discovery points toward a potential low-energy method for removing nanoplastics from water, which is currently one of the hardest fractions of plastic pollution to filter out.
Wettability of microplastic particles affects their water-to-air ejection via bubble bursting.
Researchers experimentally investigated how the wettability (hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity) of microplastic particles affects their enrichment into jet droplets ejected when bubbles burst at the ocean surface, providing new insight into the mechanisms by which microplastics are transferred across the air-sea interface and potentially aerosolized.
Enhanced flotation removal of polystyrene nanoplastics by chitosan modification: Performance and mechanism
Researchers improved removal of polystyrene nanoplastics from water using chitosan-modified air flotation, boosting removal efficiency from 3.1% to 96.7% by exploiting electrostatic attraction, enhanced hydrophobicity, and bridging adsorption to cause nanoplastics to aggregate into large, buoyant flocs.
Transport of different microplastics in porous media: Effect of the adhesion of surfactants on microplastics
Researchers investigated how surfactant adhesion on different microplastic surfaces affects their transport through porous media, finding that surfactant interactions vary with microplastic type and significantly alter their mobility in subsurface environments.
Cation–π Interaction and Salinity Regulate the Bubble-Mediated Transport of Microplastics in the Presence of Aromatic Dissolved Organic Matter
Researchers combined single-molecule force spectroscopy and bulk transport experiments to show that aromatic dissolved organic matter forms an eco-corona on polystyrene microplastics via cation-π interactions, weakening bubble-mediated ejection and promoting aggregation in seawater, while polar PLA microplastics remain colloidally stable and more amenable to vertical atmospheric transport.
Effects of organic matter on interaction forces between polystyrene microplastics: An experimental study
Researchers examined how organic matter in seawater affects the aggregation and adhesion forces between polystyrene microplastics, finding that organic coatings alter surface interaction forces in ways that influence whether microplastics clump together and sink or remain dispersed in the water column.
Enrichment of microplastic pollution by micro-nanobubbles
Researchers investigated micro-nanobubbles as a novel technique for concentrating and removing microplastic pollution from water, finding that bubble-particle interactions can significantly enrich microplastic concentrations and offer a promising avenue for remediation.
Enhanced removal of microplastics using microflotation
Researchers demonstrated that microflotation, a process using optimized small bubble sizes, can remove 84-98% of microplastics from water without requiring chemical additives like flocculants or coagulants. Using a pilot-scale system, they tested removal of 30 and 100 micrometer polystyrene particles across environmentally relevant concentrations. The study suggests that microflotation offers an efficient and chemical-free alternative for microplastic removal in water treatment applications.
Wettability of microplastic particles affects their water-to-air ejection via bubble bursting.
Researchers experimentally investigated how the wettability of microplastic particles influences their transfer from water to air via bubble bursting, using 1 micron diameter polystyrene particles with contrasting hydrophilic and hydrophobic surface modifications and finding that particle wettability significantly affects enrichment into aerosolized jet droplets.
Surface Reactions in Selective Modification: The Prerequisite for Plastic Flotation
This review examines the surface chemistry modifications used in plastic flotation separation, a process that selectively separates mixed plastic waste streams for recycling by exploiting differences in surface hydrophilicity. Improving plastic recycling efficiency through better sorting technology reduces the amount of plastic waste that ultimately degrades into environmental microplastics.
Removal of Micro/Nano-Plastics from Water by Flotation Technology: A Review
This review covers flotation technology as a method for removing micro- and nanoplastics from water, explaining how dissolved air flotation, electroflotation, and froth flotation work to separate plastic particles. The authors assess performance data across particle sizes and polymer types and identify remaining challenges for scaling these approaches.
Overlooked Role of Bulk Nanobubbles in the Alteration and Motion of Microplastics in the Ocean Environment
Researchers examined how bulk nanobubbles in ocean water alter the motion and behavior of microplastics at the shoreline, finding that nanobubbles interact with microplastic surfaces in ways influenced by salinity and external energy, affecting how microplastics move and accumulate in marine environments.
The preliminary investigation on the microplastic removal using column flotation: effects of kerosene on the floatability of microplastics
Researchers tested column flotation using kerosene as a collector to remove microplastics from water, finding that the hydrophobic surface properties of microplastics made them amenable to flotation-based separation. The study represents a preliminary investigation into flotation as a novel microplastic removal technique.
Effects and applications of surfactants on the release, removal, fate, and transport of microplastics in aquatic ecosystem: a review
Researchers reviewed how surfactants interact with microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that surfactants can modify microplastic surface properties and influence their removal during wastewater treatment processes like filtration, flotation, and coagulation. The study suggests that surfactant concentration is a crucial factor affecting both the transport and the pollutant-carrying capacity of microplastics in water systems.
A combined experimental and modeling study to evaluate pH-dependent sorption of polar and non-polar compounds to polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics
A combined experimental and modeling study assessed how pH affects the sorption of both polar and non-polar compounds to polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics, finding that pH significantly influenced sorption of ionizable pollutants. The results improve predictions of how microplastics accumulate and transport contaminants under varying environmental conditions.
Surface change of microplastics in aquatic environment and the removal by froth flotation assisted with cationic and anionic surfactants
This study found that microplastics become less water-repellent after months of sitting in natural river water due to surface weathering and mineral buildup, which makes them harder to remove by flotation methods. The researchers then showed that adding surfactants (soap-like chemicals) could restore the microplastics' water-repellent properties and make flotation effective again. This work advances practical methods for cleaning microplastics out of contaminated water.
Insights into Mechanism of Hypochlorite-Induced Functionalization of Polymers toward Separating BFR-Containing Components from Microplastics
This study found that treating polymer surfaces with hypochlorite (bleach) modifies their chemistry in ways that enable a flotation technique to separate microplastics by type for recycling. The approach could help sort mixed plastic waste more efficiently, potentially reducing the volume of plastic entering the environment.
The removal efficiency and mechanism of microplastic enhancement by positive modification dissolved air flotation
Researchers enhanced dissolved air flotation by modifying the process with positively charged surfaces to improve microplastic removal from freshwater, finding that the modified approach significantly outperformed conventional dissolved air flotation across three common polymer types.
Effect of wettability on microplastic aerosolization via film and jet drops ejected from bursting bubbles
Researchers experimentally investigated how wettability of microplastic particles affects their aerosolization via film drops and jet drops ejected from bursting bubbles at the ocean surface. They found that particle wettability significantly controls the probability of microplastic inclusion in ejected droplets, with implications for understanding how microplastics transfer from the ocean surface into the atmosphere.
Enhanced microplastic removal using a mini-hydrocyclone with microbubbles
Researchers improved microplastic separation from water by combining mini-hydrocyclones with microbubble injection, finding that the microbubbles reduced apparent microplastic density and substantially improved separation efficiency for particles with densities similar to water.