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Papers
20 resultsShowing papers similar to Water retention and hydraulic properties of a natural soil subjected to microplastic contaminations and leachate exposures
ClearEffects of microplastics on the hydraulic properties and pore characteristics of compacted soil
Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics affect the hydraulic properties and pore structure of compacted soil, finding that higher microplastic concentrations disrupted pore size distribution and reduced saturated hydraulic conductivity while altering water retention capacity.
Effects of microplastic contamination on the hydraulic, water retention, and desiccation crack properties of a natural clay exposed to leachate
Researchers examined how microplastic contamination affects the physical properties of natural clay soil exposed to landfill leachate. They found that microplastics significantly increased the soil's water permeability, reduced its water retention capacity, and altered desiccation cracking patterns. The findings suggest that microplastic pollution could compromise the integrity of clay barriers used in landfill liners and other engineering applications.
Concentration‐ and Size‐Dependent Influences of Microplastics on Soil Hydraulic Properties and Water Flow
Researchers investigated how microplastic concentration and particle size affect soil hydraulic properties and water flow. They found that microplastic contamination reduced saturated conductivity by up to 50% and inhibited water infiltration, with higher concentrations and larger particle sizes leading to weaker soil water-holding capacity.
Effects of Microplastics on Soil Hydraulic Properties
Researchers investigated how pristine and UV-weathered polypropylene granules and polyester fibers affect soil hydraulic properties in a silt loam soil, finding that microplastic incorporation altered bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, water holding capacity, and aggregate stability in ways that depended on particle shape and weathering state.
Saturated hydraulic conductivity in microplastics incorporated soils: Effects of soil texture, polymer type, particle size, and concentration
Researchers measured saturated hydraulic conductivity in loam and sandy loam soils amended with PET, PVC, and PE microplastics of two size classes, finding that PET particles in sandy loam produced the highest conductivity values and that polymer hydrophobicity and particle size both influence soil water flow.
Interactions between water flow and microplastics in silt loam and loamy sand
Researchers found that increasing microplastic content (1-7% w/w) in both silt loam and loamy sand soils enhanced water infiltration rates, driving microplastic particles deeper into the soil profile. The study reveals a feedback mechanism where microplastics alter the very water flow patterns responsible for their own transport and distribution.
Soil texture governs the influence of different microplastics on soil hydraulic properties
This study tested how different types of microplastics affect soil hydraulic properties across varying soil textures, finding that soil texture strongly governs the magnitude of MP impacts on water retention and hydraulic conductivity, with fine-textured soils showing different responses than coarse-textured ones.
Impact of microplastic pollution in terrestrial ecosystem on index and engineering properties of sandy soil: An experimental investigation
Researchers tested how different concentrations of three common plastic types affect the physical and engineering properties of sandy soil. They found that increasing microplastic contamination significantly altered soil characteristics including liquid limit, plasticity, compaction, and shear strength. The findings suggest that microplastic pollution in the ground could potentially compromise the structural stability of soil used in construction and land management.
Effects of microplastics on the water characteristic curve of soils with different textures
Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics at different concentrations and sizes affect the water-holding properties of sandy and loamy soils. The study found that low concentrations had minimal impact, while high concentrations significantly altered soil water characteristics, with small microplastics improving water retention in loamy soil and larger particles reducing water content in sandy soil.
Microplastics in soils: an environmental geotechnics perspective
This geotechnical engineering perspective reviewed microplastic contamination in soils and the terrestrial subsurface, examining how MPs alter soil mechanical properties — including shear strength, hydraulic conductivity, and compressibility — and arguing that geotechnical impacts have been underappreciated in environmental assessments.
Soil texture is an important factor determining how microplastics affect soil hydraulic characteristics
This study tested how polypropylene microplastics of different sizes affect how water moves through three types of soil. Adding microplastics reduced the soil's ability to absorb and hold water by up to 96%, with clay soils being the most affected. These changes to soil water flow could affect crop growth and potentially increase the movement of other pollutants through contaminated farmland.
Experimental Investigation of Water-Retaining and Unsaturated Infiltration Characteristics of Loess Soils Imbued with Microplastics
Researchers conducted one-dimensional vertical soil column rainfall infiltration experiments on loess soil mixed with microplastics at varying content levels and particle sizes, finding that microplastics weakened soil water-retaining capacity and altered infiltration characteristics, with intermittent irrigation recommended to compensate for reduced soil permeability.
Indirect Effects of Microplastic-Contaminated Soils on Adjacent Soil Layers: Vertical Changes in Soil Physical Structure and Water Flow
Laboratory experiments showed that microplastic contamination in upper soil layers indirectly altered the physical structure and water flow of adjacent uncontaminated lower soil layers, suggesting that microplastics can affect soil hydrology beyond their immediate zone of contamination.
Microplastics effects on wettability, pore sizes and saturated hydraulic conductivity of a loess topsoil
Researchers tested how polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene microplastics at concentrations already found in farmland soils affect key physical properties of agricultural soil. They found that adding microplastics reduced the soil's ability to conduct water and hold moisture, with larger particles at higher concentrations causing the greatest changes. The study suggests that microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils could alter water movement and availability in ways that may affect crop growth.
Microplastic induces soil water repellency and limits capillary flow
Laboratory experiments showed that microplastics mixed with sandy soil induced water repellency and reduced capillary water flow, with the magnitude of the effect depending on MP content and the relative sizes of MP and soil particles. The findings suggest that microplastic accumulation in soil can impair water infiltration and potentially disrupt plant-available water in agricultural soils.
Can Microplastic Pollution Change Soil-Water Dynamics? Results from Controlled Laboratory Experiments
Researchers conducted controlled laboratory experiments examining how microplastic shape and concentration affect soil water-holding capacity and evaporation in fine sand, finding through statistical and non-parametric analyses that microplastic pollution at environmentally relevant concentrations significantly altered both hydrological parameters.
Impact of Microplastics on Soil Health: Soil-Water Retention, Shrinkage and Holding Properties
A review of research on microplastics in soil found that plastic particles can alter water retention, shrinkage, and structural properties in ways that could reduce agricultural productivity. Because microplastics are as prevalent in soils as in oceans, their terrestrial impacts warrant much greater research attention.
Geotechnical Implications of Microplastics: A Review of Their Effects on Soil Mechanical Parameters
This review compiled and analyzed findings from previous studies on how microplastics affect soil mechanical parameters — including compressibility, permeability, shear strength, settlement, and slope stability — concluding that microplastic contamination can substantially alter geotechnical soil behavior with implications for engineering and construction.
Overlooked yet critical pathways for microplastics input to soil and groundwater system: Transport mechanisms and simulation predictions in landfill environments
Researchers systematically investigated how microplastics travel through landfill soils into groundwater, examining the effects of particle density, size, polymer type, temperature, and salinity on transport. The study used column experiments and computational modeling to reveal that landfill conditions create overlooked but critical pathways for microplastic contamination of soil and groundwater systems.
Effect of Polypropylene Microplastic on Soil Water Characteristic Curve
Researchers experimentally measured the effect of polypropylene microplastics of varying sizes and concentrations on the soil water characteristic curve of silty sand, finding that microplastic addition alters soil pore structure in ways that modify water retention and drainage behavior with implications for agricultural productivity.