Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Influence of typical clay minerals on aggregation and settling of pristine and aged polyethylene microplastics

Researchers investigated how common clay minerals affect the aggregation and settling behavior of pristine and aged polyethylene microplastics in water. They found that high salt concentrations promoted the settling of microplastics when clay minerals were present, and that electrostatic repulsion was the dominant force governing interactions between plastics and clay particles. The findings provide new insights into how microplastics are transported and deposited in natural water systems.

2022 Environmental Pollution 56 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

Coaggregation of micro polystyrene particles and suspended minerals under concentrated salt solution: A perspective of terrestrial-to-ocean transfer of microplastics

Researchers found that polystyrene microplastics co-aggregate with suspended mineral colloids in concentrated salt solutions, with bentonite most efficiently driving aggregation, suggesting that mineral-microplastic aggregates may be an important mechanism for transporting microplastics from terrestrial environments to the ocean.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions between nano/micro plastics and suspended sediment in water: Implications on aggregation and settling

Interactions between nanoplastics and suspended sediment were studied in NaCl solutions, finding that large sediment particles significantly enhanced settling of nanoplastics through heteroaggregation, with the effect increasing at higher ionic strength. The study reveals how sediment-nanoplastic aggregation drives vertical transport and burial of nanoplastics in aquatic environments.

2019 Water Research 362 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

Interaction, Adhesion and Aggregation of Microplastic/Nanoplastic Particles: Effects of Plastic Polymer Type

This review examines how polymer type, particle size, shape, pH, ionic strength, and salt composition influence the interaction, adhesion, and aggregation behavior of microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic and soil environments. The paper synthesizes findings on homoaggregation and heteroaggregation with natural and engineered nanoparticles, highlighting how aggregation affects particle transport and environmental fate.

2023 Asian Journal of Water Environment and Pollution 3 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

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

Heteroaggregation and deposition behaviors of carboxylated nanoplastics with different types of clay minerals in aquatic environments: Important role of calcium(II) ion-assisted bridging

This study examined how nanoplastics interact with common clay minerals found in water, which affects how far the plastic particles can travel through the environment. Calcium and other positively charged ions act as bridges that cause nanoplastics to clump together with clay and settle out of water more quickly. Understanding this process is important because it determines whether nanoplastics stay suspended in drinking water sources or settle into sediments where they can affect bottom-dwelling organisms.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Suspended clay and surfactants enhance buoyant microplastic settling

Laboratory experiments found that suspended clay particles and surfactants can enhance the settling of buoyant microplastics by promoting aggregation and density increase, providing a physico-chemical mechanism explaining how buoyant plastics can sink in natural water bodies.

2023 Communications Earth & Environment 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Heteroaggregation kinetics of nanoplastics and soot nanoparticles in aquatic environments

Researchers examined how polystyrene nanoplastics and soot particles aggregate together in aquatic environments, finding that particle ratio, salinity, pH, and dissolved organic matter all influence clumping rates — with calcium ions dramatically accelerating aggregation and potentially altering nanoplastic transport in coastal and marine waters.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of iron/aluminum (hydr)oxide and clay minerals on heteroaggregation and transport of nanoplastics in aquatic environment

Researchers examined how polystyrene nanoplastics interact with nine different minerals in aquatic environments, finding that positively charged iron and aluminum (hydr)oxide minerals readily form aggregates with nanoplastics through electrostatic and hydrophobic forces, while humic acid and shifting pH significantly suppress this aggregation.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 68 citations
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
Article Tier 2

Settling behavior of microplastic hetero-aggregates in aquatic environments with varying salinity

This lab study examined how changes in water saltiness affect whether microplastics clump together with sediment and sink. Increasing salinity encouraged microplastics to form larger aggregates with sediment particles, peaking at moderate salt levels (25 PSU), which influences how quickly they settle out of the water column. Understanding this behavior matters for predicting where microplastics end up in coastal and estuarine environments where fresh and salt water mix.

2025 International Journal of Sediment Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of Poly(Ionic Liquid) in Aggregation Behavior of Micro‐Particles in Aqueous Solvent

Researchers synthesized novel polymer-based flocculants (poly(ionic liquids)) that outperformed conventional aluminum-based coagulants in aggregating polypropylene and polystyrene microplastics from natural seawater, even under the high-salinity conditions where conventional treatments fail. Removing microplastics from marine environments is uniquely challenging because salt disrupts standard coagulation chemistry; these metal-free flocculants offer a more effective alternative. The work identifies a promising class of water treatment chemicals specifically suited to saltwater microplastic remediation.

2026 Journal of Applied Polymer Science
Article Tier 2

Modeling of heteroaggregation driven buoyant microplastic settling: Interaction with multiple clay particles

Researchers developed a mathematical model for the heteroaggregation of buoyant microplastics with multiple clay particles, addressing the limitation of existing single-clay-particle models that cannot accurately simulate settling behavior of low-density plastics. The model improves prediction of vertical microplastic migration in aquatic environments by accounting for interactions with multiple clay particles simultaneously.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic understanding of the aggregation kinetics of nanoplastics in marine environments: Comparing synthetic and natural water matrices

Researchers investigated aggregation kinetics of polystyrene nanoplastics in marine environments, finding that organic matter type and salt concentration strongly influenced particle stability, with nanoplastics in natural seawater aggregating differently than in synthetic matrices.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of electrolyte and natural organic matter characteristics on the aggregation and sedimentation of polystyrene nanoplastics

Researchers examined how dissolved organic matter from different water sources affects the aggregation and sedimentation of polystyrene nanoplastics under varied salt concentrations and temperatures, finding that biopolymers form a protective 'eco-corona' around particles that strongly inhibits long-term sedimentation, while temperature influences aggregation dynamics in complex ways.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of natural organic matter and inorganic ions on the stabilization of polystyrene micro-particles

Researchers investigated how natural organic matter (NOM) and inorganic ions affect the stabilization and aggregation behavior of polystyrene nanoplastics in water, finding that NOM enhanced colloidal stability while high ionic strength promoted aggregation. The results indicate that water chemistry plays a dominant role in determining nanoplastic mobility and persistence in natural freshwater environments.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the stability of nanoplastics in aqueous environments: effect of ionic strength, temperature, dissolved organic matter, clay, and heavy metals

This study examined how environmental factors including ionic strength, temperature, dissolved organic matter, and clay affect the stability and aggregation of nanoplastics in water, finding that these conditions significantly influence particle behavior. Understanding nanoplastic stability is critical for predicting their fate, transport, and bioavailability in aquatic systems.

2019 Environmental Science Nano 237 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of water chemistry on surface charge and aggregation of polystyrene microspheres suspensions

Researchers investigated how water chemistry factors such as pH, salt concentration, and humic acid affect the surface charge and aggregation behavior of polystyrene microspheres in aqueous solutions. The study found that higher ionic strength and lower pH promoted aggregation, while humic acid stabilized the particles, suggesting that water chemistry strongly influences the environmental fate and transport of microplastics.

2018 The Science of The Total Environment 230 citations
Article Tier 2

Heteroaggregation of nanoplastic particles in the presence of inorganic colloids and natural organic matter

Nanoplastics were found to heteroaggregate extensively with inorganic colloids and natural organic matter in both freshwater and marine conditions, altering their size, surface charge, and settling behavior compared to pristine particles. The study demonstrates that nanoplastic behavior in natural waters is dominated by interactions with other environmental constituents rather than the intrinsic properties of the plastic alone.

2018 Environmental Science Nano 227 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

Heteroaggregation kinetics of oppositely charged nanoplastics in aquatic environments: Effects of particle ratio, solution chemistry, and interaction sequence

Researchers investigated how oppositely charged nanoplastics clump together (heteroaggregation) in water under varying pH, salt, and natural organic matter conditions, finding that electrostatic attraction drives aggregation but humic acid retards it more than sodium alginate, while the sequence and timing of chemical interactions also significantly alters the final aggregation behavior.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 13 citations