Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics dominate the cotransport of small-scale plastics in seawater-saturated porous media

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.

2022 Water Research 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Key factors controlling transport of micro- and nanoplastic in porous media and its effect on coexisting pollutants

Researchers reviewed the key factors that control how micro- and nanoplastics move through porous media such as soil and sediment, and how they affect the transport of co-occurring pollutants. They found that microplastics can either facilitate or inhibit the movement of other contaminants depending on particle properties and environmental conditions. The review emphasizes the need to better understand these co-transport dynamics for predicting the environmental fate of plastic pollution.

2021 Environmental Pollution 89 citations
Article Tier 2

Cotransport of naphthalene with polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNP) in saturated porous media: Effects of PSNP/naphthalene ratio and ionic strength

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.

2019 Chemosphere 70 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Water Research 99 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate and transport of nanoplastics in complex natural aquifer media: Effect of particle size and surface functionalization

Researchers used batch and column experiments in a natural sandy aquifer to show that nanoplastic transport is governed primarily by organic matter coatings rather than particle size or surface chemistry alone, with suspended organic matter increasing mobility while dissolved organic matter reduces it — findings that improve predictions of nanoplastic contamination in agricultural groundwater systems.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 186 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic insights into the co-transport of microplastic degradation products in saturated porous media: The key role of microplastics-derived DOM

Researchers investigated the co-transport of microplastic-derived dissolved organic matter (MP-DOM) and aged microplastics (AMPs) through saturated porous media under a range of environmentally relevant conditions. They found that as the degree of aging increased, changes in physicochemical characteristics of both AMPs and MP-DOM altered their transport behaviour, with MP-DOM playing a key role in the co-transport dynamics.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics/nanoplastics in porous media: Key factors controlling their transport and retention behaviors

This review examines what controls how microplastics and nanoplastics move through soil and other porous materials like sand and sediment. Factors like particle size, shape, surface charge, water flow speed, and the presence of other pollutants all influence whether plastics stay in place or travel deeper into groundwater. Understanding these transport behaviors is important for assessing the risk of microplastics contaminating underground drinking water sources.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 43 citations
Article Tier 2

The selective occurrence of ripening effect makes the cotransport of various sized nanoplastics in seawater-saturated and freshwater-saturated porous media significantly different

Researchers investigated how nanoplastics of different sizes co-transport through freshwater versus seawater-saturated porous media, finding that in seawater a "ripening" effect — where deposited particles make surfaces stickier — causes nanoplastics to mutually enhance each other's retention, producing fundamentally different fate patterns than in freshwater.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Surfactant-mediated transport of polyvinyl chloride nanoplastics in porous media: Influence of natural organic matter, natural inorganic ligands and electrolytes

Researchers studied how surfactants affect the movement of polyvinyl chloride nanoplastics through soil and groundwater systems. They found that surfactants, particularly anionic ones, significantly enhance nanoplastic transport through porous materials, while certain minerals and organic matter can either help or hinder movement. The findings are important for understanding how nanoplastics spread through subsurface environments and potentially contaminate groundwater.

2025 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Cotransport of different electrically charged microplastics with PFOA in saturated porous media

Researchers examined how differently charged microplastics co-transport with PFOA through saturated porous media, finding that surface charge significantly influences both MP mobility and PFOA transport behavior, with implications for groundwater contamination.

2023 Environmental Pollution 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Why nanoplastics do not enhance the transport of contaminants in the critical zone

Researchers investigated whether nanoplastics enhance the co-transport of emerging contaminants through agricultural soils in the critical zone, examining the correlation between transport and desorption timescales to challenge the assumption that high surface area and sorption potential of nanoplastics substantially increases contaminant mobility toward groundwater.

2024
Article Tier 2

The individual transport, cotransport and immobilization with solar pyrolysis biochar of microplastics and plasticizer in sandy soil

Researchers tracked the individual transport, co-transport, and immobilization of microplastics in porous media, finding that plastic particle behavior differs significantly depending on surface charge and pore structure interactions. The results improve predictions of where microplastics migrate and accumulate in soils and aquifers.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Behaviour and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils

Researchers investigated the behaviour and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils, examining how particle properties influence movement through porous media. The study aimed to improve understanding of subsurface microplastic fate and transport relevant to both soil and groundwater contamination.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Eco-Corona Dictates Mobility of Nanoplastics in Saturated Porous Media: The Critical Role of Preferential Binding of Macromolecules

The eco-corona that forms on nanoplastic surfaces through interaction with humic substances and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) was found to critically determine nanoplastic mobility through saturated porous media. Humic-coated nanoplastics showed greater mobility than EPS-coated ones, suggesting natural organic matter composition governs nanoplastic transport in groundwater systems.

2022 Environmental Science & Technology 58 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport and deposition of microplastic particles in saturated porous media: Co-effects of clay particles and natural organic matter

Researchers performed column experiments to study how clay particles and natural organic matter affect microplastic transport through saturated porous media, finding that both colloids reduced MP mobility through heteroaggregation and that their combined presence produced the greatest reduction in transport.

2021 Environmental Pollution 124 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastics as transport vectors for organic contaminants in the environment: A critical review

This critical review examines whether microplastics and nanoplastics truly act as significant carriers of organic pollutants in the environment. The analysis suggests that in marine environments, the transport of contaminants by microplastics is generally insignificant compared to other exposure routes like water and food. However, in agricultural soils, nanoplastics in particular may play a more meaningful role in moving pollutants, which could eventually affect the safety of crops grown in contaminated soil.

2025 Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Enrichment of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Microplastics from Coastal Waters

Researchers quantified how microplastics concentrate persistent organic pollutants compared to suspended particulate matter in coastal seawater. They found that the concentrating effect of microplastics on these pollutants was one to two orders of magnitude greater than that of natural suspended particles. The study provides precise measurements of enrichment factors, suggesting that microplastics may serve as significant carriers of toxic organic chemicals in marine environments.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Cotransport of nanoplastics (NPs) with fullerene (C60) in saturated sand: Effect of NPs/C60 ratio and seawater salinity

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.

2018 Water Research 123 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of natural organic matters on fate of polystyrene nanoplastics in porous media

Researchers investigated how natural organic matter (NOM) affects the transport of polystyrene nanoplastics through porous media, finding that NOM facilitates nanoplastic movement by increasing energy barriers, while metal ions reduce transport by promoting nanoplastic aggregation.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Cotransport of nanoplastics with nZnO in saturated porous media: From brackish water to seawater

This study examined how nanoplastics co-transport with nano zinc oxide particles through saturated porous media under conditions ranging from brackish to seawater salinity. The research found that ionic strength and the presence of nZnO significantly influenced nanoplastic mobility and deposition in coastal and marine porous environments.

2024 Journal of Environmental Sciences 8 citations