Papers

61,005 results
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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

Flocculation of PVC Microplastic and Fine-Grained Cohesive Sediment at Environmentally Realistic Concentrations

Laboratory flocculation experiments showed that PVC microplastics form aggregates with fine cohesive sediment at environmentally realistic concentrations, with aggregate size and settling velocity influenced by salinity and mixing energy, affecting microplastic transport in estuarine environments.

2021 Biological Bulletin 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of biophysical flocculation on microplastics and sediment interactions in a microtidal estuary

Field surveys and lab experiments in a microtidal estuary found that microplastics flocculate with negatively charged clastic sediment through biophysical processes, influencing how microplastics are transported, aggregated, and deposited in estuarine environments.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 2 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

Rapid flocculation and settling of positively buoyant microplastic and fine-grained sediment in natural seawater

Laboratory experiments showed that positively buoyant microplastics rapidly flocculated with fine-grained sediment in natural seawater, causing particles that would otherwise float to sink quickly. The finding has important implications for predicting microplastic fate in estuaries, where plastic-sediment aggregates may settle to the seafloor rather than dispersing.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 49 citations
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

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

Novel measurement method of determining PS nanoplastic concentration via AuNPs aggregation with NaCl

Researchers examined how salinity and dissolved organic matter affect the aggregation and sedimentation of polystyrene nanoplastics in estuarine water, finding that higher salinity and humic acid promoted particle aggregation and accelerated settling. These dynamics influence the fate and bioavailability of nanoplastics in coastal environments.

2022 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of coagulation characteristics on the aggregation of microplastics in upper-ocean turbulence

This study investigated how coagulation conditions affect microplastic aggregation in water treatment, finding that coagulant type and dose significantly influence floc formation with plastic particles and ultimately removal efficiency.

2024 Advances in Water Resources 4 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

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

Unveiling the Vertical Migration of Microplastics with Suspended Particulate Matter in the Estuarine Environment: Roles of Salinity, Particle Properties, and Hydrodynamics

Researchers studied how suspended particles like clay and sand affect the vertical movement of microplastics in estuarine environments with varying salinity levels. They found that fine clay particles were particularly effective at dragging buoyant microplastics downward through a process of attachment and aggregation. The study reveals that the interplay between sediment type, salinity, and water turbulence plays a major role in determining where microplastics end up in estuaries.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 34 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

Effects of organic matter on the aggregation of anthropogenic microplastic particles in turbulent environments

Researchers examined how different types of organic matter affect microplastic aggregation in turbulent water, finding that cationic and neutral compounds like chitosan and guar gum promote larger microplastic flocs more effectively than anionic organic matter.

2023 Water Research 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Migration behaviors of microplastics in sediment-bearing turbulence: Aggregation, settlement, and resuspension

This study explored how turbulent shear flow affects microplastic aggregation with suspended sediment and the resulting vertical migration behavior. Smaller microplastics aggregated more readily with sediment particles, dramatically increasing their settlement rate and potentially causing secondary pollution when bottom sediments are resuspended by turbulence.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Response of microplastic particles to turbulent flow: An experimental study

Using controlled flume experiments, researchers studied how turbulent flow conditions affect the transport and settling behavior of microplastic particles with varied shapes and densities, finding that turbulence intensity and particle morphology interacted to determine suspension and deposition patterns.

2025
Article Tier 2

Evidence of Microplastic Size Impact on Mobility and Transport in the Marine Environment: A Review and Synthesis of Recent Research

This review synthesized evidence on how microplastic particle size affects transport and dispersal in the marine environment, finding that size critically influences turbulent entrainment, settling velocity, and resuspension, analogous to well-established natural sediment transport dynamics.

2021 Frontiers in Marine Science 140 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

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

On some physical and dynamical properties of microplastic particles in marine environment

This study examined the physical and dynamical properties of microplastic particles in marine environments, using modeling to predict how particle shape, density, and size govern transport, dispersion, and accumulation patterns.

2016 Marine Pollution Bulletin 629 citations
Article Tier 2

Settling of buoyant microplastic in estuaries: The importance of flocculation

Researchers demonstrated that flocculation causes buoyant microplastics to settle 5-21 times faster in estuarine waters than in freshwater, supporting the concept that estuaries act as traps that reduce the overall microplastic load reaching the open ocean.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 58 citations
Article Tier 2

Experimental study on parameterizing microplastic-sediment aggregation

Researchers conducted laboratory flocculation experiments to parameterize microplastic-sediment aggregation, testing fibers, fragments, and spheres of varying sizes and densities to characterize how microplastics and sediment form flocs with enhanced settling velocity, with the goal of improving numerical transport models of microplastic fate in rivers and estuaries.

2025
Article Tier 2

Behavior of Microplastics in Inland Waters: Aggregation, Settlement, and Transport

This review examined how microplastics aggregate, settle, and are transported horizontally in inland waters, covering the influence of particle properties (size, density, shape) and environmental factors (microorganisms, hydraulic conditions, sediment characteristics) on their fate.

2021 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 154 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of size and surface charge on the sedimentation of nanoplastics in freshwater

Researchers investigated how size and surface charge of polystyrene nanoplastics affect their sedimentation behavior in freshwater, finding that both properties significantly influence aggregation dynamics and settling rates, with implications for predicting nanoplastic fate in aquatic environments.

2023 Chemosphere 17 citations