Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Pore-Scale Insightsinto Microplastic Fiber Transportand Retention in Porous Media

Researchers investigated pore-scale transport and retention of polypropylene microfibers (20-150 micrometers) in a microfluidic porous media cell, demonstrating that fiber size and flexibility are the primary determinants of mobility versus entrapment. The findings reveal how agricultural soils act as sinks for microplastic fibers and how fiber trapping alters flow dynamics at the pore scale.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Pore-Scale Insightsinto Microplastic Fiber Transportand Retention in Porous Media

Researchers used a microfluidic cell to track polypropylene microfibers (20-150 micrometers) in soil-like porous media at pore scale, finding that fiber transport and retention depend strongly on fiber size and flexibility. Larger and stiffer fibers were more readily trapped at pore constrictions, and fiber accumulation altered overall flow dynamics in the porous medium.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Pore-Scale Insights into Microplastic Fiber Transport and Retention in Porous Media

Pore-scale imaging and experiments revealed how microplastic fibers move through and get retained in soil and sediment pores, showing that fiber shape and size strongly influence transport distance and accumulation zones. Understanding these dynamics is key to predicting where microplastics accumulate in terrestrial and subsurface environments.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Pore-Scale Visualized Transport and Retention of Fibrous and Fragmental Microplastics in Porous Media under Various Surfactant Conditions

Researchers used a pore-scale visualization system to observe how fibrous and fragmental microplastics move through porous media under different surfactant conditions. They found that fibrous microplastics had lower mobility because they tend to entangle and clog pore spaces, while fragmental particles moved more freely and responded differently to various surfactant types. The study provides detailed insight into how microplastic shape and surface chemistry influence their transport through soil and groundwater systems.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport and retention patterns of fragmental microplastics in saturated and unsaturated porous media: A real-time pore-scale visualization

Real-time pore-scale visualization using a microscope-coupled flow cell was used to track how fragmented microplastics move and deposit in saturated and unsaturated porous media, revealing distinct transport and retention patterns depending on water saturation conditions. The findings improve mechanistic understanding of how microplastics migrate through soils toward groundwater.

2022 Water Research 78 citations
Article Tier 2

A synthetic microplastic fiber-manufacturing method and analysis of airborne microplastic fiber transport behavior in porous media

Researchers developed a laboratory method to manufacture synthetic microplastic fibers of 500-1000 micrometers and tested their transport through glass bead and sand columns, finding that the fibers penetrated and accumulated in porous media without clogging it or disrupting water flow regardless of concentration. The study provides early evidence that fiber-shaped microplastics can migrate through soil matrices without significantly altering hydraulic conductivity.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Retention mechanisms of microplastics in soil environments during saturation-desaturation cycles: Impact of hydrophobicity and pore geometry

This study used tiny lab models of soil pores to examine how microplastics get trapped in soil depending on their water-repelling properties and the shape of soil passages. More water-repellent microplastics stuck more firmly to surfaces and were retained at higher rates, up to 50% in some conditions. Understanding how microplastics move through soil is important for predicting whether they will reach groundwater or stay trapped near the surface where they can affect crops.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Processes controlling the transportation of microplastics in agricultural soils

Researchers investigated the physical processes controlling microplastic transport through agricultural soils, examining how soil structure, water flow, bioturbation, and particle properties interact to move microplastics from surface application sites deeper into the soil profile or laterally toward aquatic systems. The study addressed the dual role of agricultural soils as both sinks and potential sources of microplastic pollution to surrounding environments.

2022
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastics retention in porous media exhibits different dependence on grain surface roughness and clay coating with particle size

Researchers found that grain surface roughness and clay coatings affect the retention of microplastics and nanoplastics in porous media differently depending on particle size, with nanoplastics behaving oppositely to microplastics in certain soil conditions — complicating predictions of plastic transport in groundwater systems.

2022 Water Research 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Behaviour and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils

Researchers investigated the behaviour and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils, examining how particle properties influence movement through porous media. The study aimed to improve understanding of subsurface microplastic fate and transport relevant to both soil and groundwater contamination.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Effects of pore water flow rate on microplastics transport in saturated porous media: Spatial distribution analysis

Researchers studied how water flow rate affects the transport and retention of polystyrene microplastics in saturated porous media using a two-dimensional flow cell. They found that higher flow rates reduced overall particle retention but created more clustered distribution patterns in the pore spaces. The study provides important insights into how microplastics migrate through soil and groundwater systems, which has implications for understanding subsurface contamination.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Experimental Visualization and Modeling of the Transport Behaviors of Monofilament Microplastic Fibers Through an Idealized Porous Media

Video imaging of monofilament microplastic fibers passing through a flow cell packed with glass beads showed that longer fibers had more complex trajectories and greater lateral displacement than shorter fibers or passive tracers, improving understanding of fiber transport through porous media.

2024 Water Resources Research 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Pore-scale visualization and microscale barrier mechanisms of microplastics transport in bio-based hydrogel modified soils

Researchers used pore-scale dynamic visualization to examine how bio-based hydrogel soil amendments affect microplastic transport and retention in porous media. The hydrogel modifications created microscale barriers that reduced microplastic mobility, suggesting soil stabilization techniques as a potential containment strategy.

2025 Water Research
Article Tier 2

Dry‐wet alternation and microplastics particle size effects on and contributions to soil water and soil pore properties

Researchers examined how microplastics of different particle sizes affect soil water properties and pore characteristics under repeated drying-wetting cycles typical of agricultural fields. They found that both microplastic size and the drying-wetting alternation influenced soil hydraulic parameters and pore distributions. The study suggests that microplastic residues in farmland soils may alter water retention and movement in ways that could affect agricultural productivity.

2024 European Journal of Soil Science 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport and localization of microfibers around periodically and randomly placed circular obstacles

Researchers investigated the transport and migration behavior of elongated, deformable microfibers around periodically and randomly placed circular obstacles, motivated by the need to understand microplastic fiber movement in groundwater and porous environments. The study characterized how fiber shape and obstacle arrangement influence microfiber localization and transport patterns.

2025 Physics of Fluids
Article Tier 2

Microplastic polymer type impacts water infiltration and its own transport in soil

Researchers conducted laboratory soil column experiments to examine how microplastic polymer type affects both water infiltration rates and the transport of the plastic particles themselves through soil, testing the two most commonly used agricultural microplastic types under controlled hydrological conditions. The study found that polymer type significantly influenced both water flow dynamics and microplastic mobility in soil, with important implications for predicting plastic fate in agricultural and natural terrestrial ecosystems.

2024
Article Tier 2

Microplastics transport in soils: A critical review

This critical review examined how microplastics are transported through soils, evaluating the role of particle size and shape, soil texture, water flow, and bioturbation in governing vertical and lateral transport. The authors identify knowledge gaps in field-scale transport processes and call for standardized leaching experiments to improve predictions of microplastic mobility in terrestrial systems.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Rainfall-Induced Transport of Microplastics in Soils Depends on Soil Pore Structure

Scientists studied how tiny plastic particles move through real soil when it rains, finding that the soil's natural pore structure (like tiny tunnels and holes) determines how deep and fast the plastics travel. This research helps us better understand how microplastics spread through farmland soil, which is important because these plastics could eventually end up in our food and water supply. Understanding this movement is a key step toward predicting long-term health risks from microplastic contamination.

2026
Article Tier 2

Microplastics/nanoplastics in porous media: Key factors controlling their transport and retention behaviors

This review examines what controls how microplastics and nanoplastics move through soil and other porous materials like sand and sediment. Factors like particle size, shape, surface charge, water flow speed, and the presence of other pollutants all influence whether plastics stay in place or travel deeper into groundwater. Understanding these transport behaviors is important for assessing the risk of microplastics contaminating underground drinking water sources.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics transport in soils: A critical review

Researchers reviewed how microplastics move through soil, finding that their transport depends on a complex mix of particle properties, soil chemistry, water flow, and biological activity — and that these factors often interact in ways that produce contradictory results across studies. The review maps these knowledge gaps and calls for more controlled experiments to predict where microplastics accumulate and how they might reach groundwater or crops.

2025 Earth-Science Reviews 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Retention and transport behavior of microplastic particles in water-saturated porous media

Researchers investigated microplastic transport in water-saturated porous media using polystyrene microspheres, finding that particle size primarily determined retention behavior, with 50 nm particles showing high mobility while 500 nm particles exhibited greater attachment and slower migration.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 105 citations
Article Tier 2

Experimental Confirmation of the Interception History Paradigm for Colloid (Micro and Nanoparticle) Transport in Porous Media

Laboratory experiments confirmed the interception history paradigm for colloid filtration under chemically unfavorable conditions, demonstrating that microplastics and other colloidal particles follow predictable deposition patterns in porous media—providing mechanistic data relevant to modeling MP transport through soils and aquifers.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in agricultural soils: The role of soil texture in modulating oxygen diffusivity and soil respiration

Researchers spiked clay and sandy loam soils with PET microplastic fibers and fragments and measured oxygen diffusivity and soil respiration, finding that fibers reduced pore connectivity and oxygen diffusion more than fragments and that clay soils amplified these effects relative to sandy loam.

2025 Soil Biology and Biochemistry 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanism comparisons of transport-deposition-reentrainment between microplastics and natural mineral particles in porous media: A theoretical and experimental study

Researchers compared the transport, deposition, and re-entrainment behavior of microplastic particles versus natural mineral particles in porous media, finding key differences driven by density, surface charge, and shape that affect how microplastics migrate through soils and sediments.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 30 citations