Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Adsorption behaviour and mechanism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons onto typical microplastics in a soil solution

Researchers investigated the adsorption behavior of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons benzo[a]anthracene and benzo[a]pyrene onto polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics across multiple particle sizes (0.8–500 µm) in soil solution using batch sorption experiments, finding that particle size and environmental factors significantly affect PAH sorption mechanisms.

2022 International Journal of Environmental & Analytical Chemistry 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics enhance soil residue of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Roles of pH and dissolved organic matter

Researchers used dynamic soil column leaching experiments with multiple controlled factors to investigate how microplastics affect the soil residue of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). MPs significantly enhanced PAH persistence in soil by altering sorption-desorption dynamics, with MP type, aging, and soil organic matter content as key modulating factors.

2025 Environmental Research 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Vertical transport behavior of soil polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) microplastic-mediated based on column leaching experiment

A soil column experiment showed that microplastics reduce how much polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pollution leaches downward through soil by 8–20%, effectively trapping these carcinogenic compounds closer to the surface; however, alkaline conditions reversed this effect, causing elevated PAH leaching. This matters because microplastic-contaminated agricultural soils often also carry PAHs, and the interaction between the two pollutants could affect both groundwater contamination risk and the bioavailability of PAHs to crops.

2026
Article Tier 2

Interactions between polyaromatic hydrocarbons and microplastics: Environmental mechanisms and ecotoxicological impacts

This review examines how microplastics interact with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a class of toxic organic pollutants found throughout the environment. Evidence indicates that microplastics can adsorb these pollutants and alter their availability and toxicity to living organisms, with effects depending on plastic type, pollutant properties, and environmental conditions. The study identifies critical gaps in long-term exposure research and calls for standardized testing methods to better assess these combined risks.

2025 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by microplastic films: Characterizing kinetics, isotherms, and impacts of sludge exposure

This study characterized the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons onto microplastic films in sludge and wastewater systems, finding that MP type and surface properties strongly influence PAH binding capacity and may facilitate PAH transport and bioavailability in contaminated environments.

2025 Chemosphere
Article Tier 2

The adsorption process and mechanism of benzo[a]pyrene in agricultural soil mediated by microplastics

Researchers investigated how different types of microplastics affect the adsorption of the carcinogenic pollutant benzo[a]pyrene in agricultural soil. They found that PVC microplastics had the strongest capacity to adsorb this pollutant, increasing soil adsorption by nearly four times compared to soil alone. The study suggests that microplastics in agricultural soils may concentrate harmful organic pollutants, potentially altering their environmental fate and bioavailability.

2024 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon accumulation in aged and unaged polyurethane microplastics in contaminated soil

Researchers exposed biodegradable and conventional polyurethane foam microplastics to PAH-contaminated soils to measure pollutant sorption over 28 days. The study found that biodegradable polyurethane accumulated significantly more polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons than conventional polyurethane, suggesting that the flexibility of the polymer network drives sorption and that biodegradable microplastics may pose unexpected risks as pollutant carriers in soil.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 52 citations
Article Tier 2

Insights into adsorption mechanisms of nitro polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on common microplastic particles: Experimental studies and modeling

Researchers investigated how nitro polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons adsorb onto common microplastics, finding that the process is controlled by chemical adsorption and hydrophobic partitioning, with pollutant hydrophobicity being the dominant factor influencing adsorption capacity.

2023 Chemosphere 30 citations
Article Tier 2

The Adsorption Process and Mechanism of Benzo[a]pyrene in Agricultural Soil Mediated by Microplastics

Scientists studied how three common types of microplastics interact with benzo[a]pyrene, a cancer-linked pollutant, in agricultural soil. PVC microplastics showed the strongest ability to adsorb this pollutant, increasing soil's overall capacity to hold benzo[a]pyrene by nearly four times compared to soil alone. The research suggests that microplastics in farmland may concentrate harmful chemical pollutants, potentially affecting how these toxins move through the soil ecosystem.

2024 Toxics 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the Interaction between Microplastics, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Biofilms in Freshwater

Researchers investigated the adsorption of benzo(a)pyrene and pyrene by five microplastic types in freshwater over 3 and 30 days, finding that polypropylene was the most efficient adsorbent while polystyrene was the least efficient for benzo(a)pyrene. The study also examined how bacterial biofilms on microplastics, including pathogenic species such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, interact with PAH adsorption dynamics.

2020 Polycyclic aromatic compounds 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption Behavior and Interaction of Micro-Nanoplastics in Soils and Aquatic Environment

This review examined how micro- and nanoplastics adsorb environmental pollutants in soil and aquatic environments, acting as vectors that transfer and enhance the bioavailability of contaminants. Aging and weathering processes that alter plastic surface properties were identified as key factors influencing adsorption capacity and pollutant interactions.

2024 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence, adsorption and transport mechanism of microplastics in soil

This review synthesizes research on microplastic occurrence, adsorption behavior, and transport mechanisms in soil environments, covering global distribution patterns, sources including agricultural plastic film and sewage sludge, and the adsorption of co-occurring organic pollutants and heavy metals through mechanisms such as pore filling, van der Waals forces, electrostatic interactions, and complexation.

2024 Scientia Sinica Chimica 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Research Progress on the Adsorption and Their Mechanisms of Heavy Metal in Soil By Microplastics

This review examines how microplastics adsorb heavy metals in soil environments, summarizing mechanisms including electrostatic attraction, surface complexation, and hydrophobic interactions that make MPs effective vectors for metal transport and bioavailability.

2025 International journal of agriculture and food sciences research.
Article Tier 2

A review of human and animals exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Health risk and adverse effects, photo-induced toxicity and regulating effect of microplastics

This review examines the health risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), toxic chemicals from burning fossil fuels, and how microplastics can change their behavior in the environment. Microplastics absorb PAHs on their surface, potentially carrying these cancer-causing chemicals into organisms that ingest the contaminated particles. The combined toxicity of PAHs attached to microplastics may be greater than either pollutant alone, increasing risks to both wildlife and human health.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 403 citations
Article Tier 2

Seasonal variation and spatial distribution of microplastics in tertiary wastewater treatment plant in South Korea

Researchers studied the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) onto weathered polypropylene microplastics in seawater, finding that weathering increased surface area and adsorption capacity compared to pristine particles. This suggests environmental aging enhances microplastics as vectors for hydrophobic pollutants.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of some hazardous aromatic hydrocarbons by various pristine and heat-activated aged microplastics as potential pollutant carriers in aquatic environment

Researchers examined how pristine and heat-aged microplastics of four polymer types adsorb hazardous aromatic hydrocarbons, finding that aging significantly altered adsorption capacity. The results demonstrate that weathered microplastics may act as more effective pollutant vectors than pristine particles in aquatic environments.

2025 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-water partitioning of two states halogenated PAHs: Solute and sol

This study examined how halogenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) partition between microplastics and water, finding that plastic type and contaminant chemistry both influence sorption behavior. Understanding how microplastics absorb and transport toxic chemicals is important for assessing the ecological risks they pose.

2021 Environmental Research 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Close encounters on a micro scale: microplastic sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their potential effects on associated biofilm communities

Researchers investigated the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) onto microplastics and the potential cascading effects on biofilm communities associated with those microplastics in aquatic environments. They found that evaluating microplastics in isolation underestimates their ecological impact, as co-transported PAHs can alter the composition and function of biofilm communities across different compartments of aquatic ecosystems.

2025 Environmental Microbiome
Article Tier 2

Evaluating the effect of different modified microplastics on the availability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Researchers investigated how weathering processes alter the ability of polyethylene microplastics to affect the bioavailability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, finding that etching and UV aging increased surface oxygen groups, specific surface area, and pore volume. Free PAH concentrations decreased with increasing microplastic concentration for most hydrophobic PAHs, and UV aging only slightly altered sorption coefficients compared to pristine microplastics.

2019 Water Research 115 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of PAHs and PCDD/Fs in Microplastics: A Review

This review examines the adsorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs) onto microplastics, highlighting how microplastics can act as vectors transporting these toxic compounds through aquatic environments and into organisms that ingest them.

2022 Microplastics 30 citations