Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Prediction of nanoplastics aggregation in wastewaters

Researchers modeled how nanoplastic particles from degraded plastic waste aggregate in wastewater under different conditions. Understanding aggregation behavior is key to predicting how nanoplastics move through water treatment systems and ultimately whether they reach drinking water sources.

2023 Water Emerging Contaminants & Nanoplastics 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular modeling to elucidate the dynamic interaction process and aggregation mechanism between natural organic matters and nanoplastics

Researchers used molecular modeling to understand how nanoplastics interact with natural organic matter found in water environments. They found that the chemical properties of both the plastic surface and the organic molecules determined whether they clumped together or remained dispersed. The study provides new molecular-level insights into how nanoplastics behave and spread in natural water systems, which is important for predicting their environmental fate.

2024 Eco-Environment & Health 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Hybrid modeling of hetero-agglomeration processes: a framework for model selection and arrangement

Researchers developed a hybrid modeling framework for hetero-agglomeration processes — the clumping together of different particle types — to better predict how microplastics interact with natural particles in aquatic environments. The framework helps select appropriate models for different environmental conditions and particle combinations.

2023 Engineering With Computers 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Structural Compactness Governs the Environmental Fate of Polystyrene Nanoplastics: Reaggregation Mechanisms in Laboratory-Scale Aquatic Systems.

Scientists studied how tiny plastic particles from polystyrene (smaller than the width of a human hair) behave in water under different conditions like saltiness and water movement. They found that these plastic particles can break apart and stick back together, staying suspended in water for long periods and traveling far distances through rivers and oceans. This matters because it means these microscopic plastics could spread widely through water systems and potentially end up in our drinking water and food chain.

2026 Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)
Article Tier 2

Assessing the size transformation of nanoplastics in natural water matrices

Researchers studied how nanoplastics change in size when placed in different types of natural water, including freshwater and seawater. They found that factors like pH, salt content, and dissolved organic matter significantly influenced whether the particles clumped together or remained small. The findings are important for understanding how nanoplastics behave in real-world aquatic environments and assessing their potential risks.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Modeling the evolution of nanoplastic particle aggregation in aquatic systems

Researchers developed a mathematical model to simulate how nanoplastic particles aggregate over time in freshwater and marine aquatic systems as a function of particle size, ionic strength, pH, and organic matter concentration. The model predicted that nanoplastics aggregate rapidly under typical estuarine salinity conditions, transitioning from colloidal to settling-sized clusters within hours.

2025
Article Tier 2

Aggregation dynamics of nanoplastics: insights through real world waste

Researchers studied the aggregation behavior of nanoplastics generated from real-world plastic waste rather than synthetic laboratory particles. The study found that PET and polystyrene nanoplastics sourced from discarded bottles and packaging exhibited distinct colloidal behaviors in aquatic conditions, providing more realistic insights into how nanoplastics behave in natural environments.

2026 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts
Article Tier 2

Influence of shape on heteroaggregation of model microplastics: a simulation study

Researchers used molecular dynamics simulations to show that microplastic particle shape strongly influences how they aggregate with organic matter, finding that smooth spherical particles form compact aggregates with weak bonds while sharp-edged shapes form fractal structures with stronger connections that are more resistant to shear flow.

2023 Soft Matter 6 citations
Article Tier 2

A review of microplastics aggregation in aquatic environment: Influence factors, analytical methods, and environmental implications

This review examines how microplastics clump together in aquatic environments, a behavior called aggregation that affects where they end up and how available they are to organisms. Researchers evaluated the factors that influence aggregation, including water chemistry, particle size, and the presence of natural organic matter. The study identifies important gaps in field research and calls for standardized methods to better understand how aggregation shapes the environmental fate of microplastics.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 353 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics display strong stability in aqueous environments: Insights from aggregation behaviour and theoretical calculations

Nanoplastics released into aquatic environments were found to be highly stable and resist aggregation and settling under many conditions, meaning they can persist and disperse widely rather than quickly sinking. This environmental stability makes nanoplastics particularly concerning as long-lived and mobile contaminants in water systems.

2019 Environmental Pollution 187 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation of microplastics and clay particles in the nearshore environment: Characteristics, influencing factors, and implications

Researchers studied how microplastics interact with natural clay particles in coastal waters, examining how factors like salinity, pH, and particle properties influence their aggregation behavior. They found that microplastics readily form clusters with clay particles, which changes how they settle and move through nearshore environments. Understanding this aggregation process is important for predicting where microplastics end up in coastal ecosystems and their potential exposure to marine organisms.

2022 Water Research 83 citations
Article Tier 2

Heterogeneous aggregation of microplastics and mineral particles in aquatic environments: Effects of surface functional groups, pH, and electrolytes

Researchers studied how microplastics clump together with soil and rock minerals in water, finding that positively charged minerals bound to plastic particles nearly three times more effectively than clay minerals, and that low pH and calcium ions dramatically accelerated aggregation. Understanding these dynamics helps predict where microplastics will settle or stay suspended in rivers, lakes, and aquifers.

2025 Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

The difference of aggregation mechanism between microplastics and nanoplastics: Role of Brownian motion and structural layer force

The aggregation mechanisms of 100-nm and 1-micrometer polystyrene particles were compared under different water chemistry conditions to understand how microplastics and nanoplastics behave differently in aquatic environments. The study found distinct aggregation pathways between the two size classes, driven by differences in electrostatic forces and surface properties.

2020 Environmental Pollution 126 citations
Article Tier 2

Sedimentation behavior of aggregated microplastics: Influence of particle size and water constituents in environmental waters

Laboratory experiments investigated how aggregation of microplastics with sediments and organic matter affects their sinking rates in water, finding that aggregate composition strongly influences settling velocity. These findings improve models predicting whether microplastics sink to the seafloor or remain suspended in the water column.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of temperature and particle concentration on aggregation of nanoplastics in freshwater and seawater

The aggregation behavior of nanoplastics in freshwater and seawater was studied at different temperatures and particle concentrations, finding that salinity, particle concentration, and temperature all significantly influenced aggregation rates with implications for nanoplastic fate in aquatic environments.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation kinetics of microplastics in aquatic environment: Complex roles of electrolytes, pH, and natural organic matter

Researchers found that the aggregation behavior of polystyrene microplastics in water was strongly influenced by pH, ionic strength, and the presence of natural organic matter, with divalent cations like calcium and magnesium promoting aggregation. Understanding aggregation kinetics is critical for predicting how microplastics partition between suspended and settled states in natural water bodies.

2018 Environmental Pollution 249 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation and Deposition Kinetics of Polystyrene Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Aquatic Environment

Researchers measured aggregation and deposition kinetics of 50 nm and 500 nm polystyrene particles under varying ionic strength and pH conditions, finding that both particle sizes aggregated rapidly at elevated salt concentrations and that the smaller nanoplastics were more mobile in column experiments.

2021 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental factors-mediated behavior of microplastics and nanoplastics in water: A review

This review examines how environmental conditions such as pH, salt levels, and organic matter influence how microplastics and nanoplastics behave in water. The study found that these factors significantly affect whether tiny plastic particles clump together or stay dispersed, which in turn determines how far they travel and how available they are for organisms to ingest.

2021 Chemosphere 151 citations
Article Tier 2

How do microplastics interact with other particles in aquatic environments?

This study investigates how microplastics interact with other particles in aquatic environments, examining the physical and chemical mechanisms governing aggregation, adsorption, and co-transport of microplastics with suspended particles. The research is hosted on the Experiment platform for open scientific discovery funding and sharing.

2024
Article Tier 2

Surface interactions of model microplastic particles in seawater

Researchers investigated the surface interaction and aggregation behavior of polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microplastic particles in seawater, examining the mechanisms driving particle aggregation that affects diffusivity, distribution, and bioavailability in marine environments. The findings provide insight into how microplastics aggregate under saline conditions and the ecological risks arising from aggregate formation.

2022 Progress in Rubber Plastics and Recycling Technology 8 citations