Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Cotransport of PFOA with Different Electrically Charged Plastic Particles in Saturated Porous Media

This study investigated how PFOA — a persistent industrial chemical — moves through porous media when combined with plastic particles of different electrical charges. Microplastics can alter the transport of PFOA in soil and groundwater, potentially increasing the spread of this toxic chemical in the environment.

2023
Article Tier 2

Effects of ionic strength, cation type and pH on the cotransport of microplastics with PFOA in saturated porous media

Researchers investigated how microplastics and the chemical contaminant PFOA interact when traveling together through saturated soil. The study found that microplastics generally inhibited PFOA transport through adsorption, while PFOA accelerated microplastic movement through electrostatic effects, demonstrating that co-contamination can alter the environmental fate of both pollutants.

2024 Chemosphere 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Particle size and co-presence of PFOA alter the transport of microplastics in saturated natural sediment

Researchers investigated how microplastic particle size and the co-presence of the contaminant PFOA affect microplastic transport through natural sediment. The study found that smaller microplastics were more mobile, while PFOA altered transport dynamics, indicating that co-occurring pollutants can influence how microplastics move through environmental substrates.

2024 Environmental Pollutants and Bioavailability 10 citations
Article Tier 2

The individual transport, cotransport and immobilization with solar pyrolysis biochar of microplastics and plasticizer in sandy soil

Researchers tracked the individual transport, co-transport, and immobilization of microplastics in porous media, finding that plastic particle behavior differs significantly depending on surface charge and pore structure interactions. The results improve predictions of where microplastics migrate and accumulate in soils and aquifers.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport of different microplastics in porous media: Effect of the adhesion of surfactants on microplastics

Researchers investigated how surfactant adhesion on different microplastic surfaces affects their transport through porous media, finding that surfactant interactions vary with microplastic type and significantly alter their mobility in subsurface environments.

2022 Water Research 99 citations
Article Tier 2

Cotransport of 6PPD-Q and pristine/aged microplastics in porous media: An insight based on transport forms and mechanisms

Researchers investigated the cotransport of tire-derived chemical 6PPD-Q with pristine and aged microplastics through porous media. The study found that pristine microplastics adsorbed more 6PPD-Q than aged ones due to hydrophobic interactions, and that microplastics can facilitate the transport of this toxic tire rubber compound through soil and groundwater systems.

2024 Water Research 18 citations
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

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

Researchers investigated the behavior and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils, examining how physical and chemical properties of microplastic particles influence their mobility through porous geological media. The study addressed knowledge gaps in understanding subsurface microplastic transport relevant to groundwater contamination and the fate of microplastics deposited in terrestrial environments.

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

Nanoplastics as carriers of organic pollutants in seawater-saturated porous media: a quantitative comparison of transport pathways

Researchers quantitatively compared transport pathways of non-polar organic pollutants carried by nanoplastics through seawater-saturated porous media, demonstrating that the carrier effect of nanoplastics is the primary mechanism inhibiting pollutant migration and enabling their co-transport in coastal and marine subsurface environments.

2025 Environmental Science Nano
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

Mechanistic Insights into PFAS Adsorption on Microplastics: Effects of Contaminant Properties and Water Chemistry

Researchers investigated how two widely detected PFAS compounds, PFOS and PFOA, adsorb onto five common types of microplastics in aquatic environments. The study found that contaminant properties and water chemistry significantly influence adsorption behavior, confirming that microplastics can serve as carriers for PFAS transport in waterways.

2026 Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Facilitated transport of microplastics and nonylphenol in porous media with variations in physicochemical heterogeneity

Researchers found that when microplastics and the endocrine disruptor nonylphenol coexist, their mobility through soil is enhanced due to mutual association and competition for retention sites, increasing potential groundwater contamination risk.

2022 Environmental Pollution 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Key factors controlling transport of micro- and nanoplastic in porous media and its effect on coexisting pollutants

Researchers reviewed the key factors that control how micro- and nanoplastics move through porous media such as soil and sediment, and how they affect the transport of co-occurring pollutants. They found that microplastics can either facilitate or inhibit the movement of other contaminants depending on particle properties and environmental conditions. The review emphasizes the need to better understand these co-transport dynamics for predicting the environmental fate of plastic pollution.

2021 Environmental Pollution 89 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of biosurfactants on the transport of polyethylene microplastics in saturated porous media

This study examined how biosurfactants -- surface-active compounds produced by microorganisms -- affect the transport of polyethylene microplastics through saturated porous media. Biosurfactants altered microplastic surface charge and mobility, generally enhancing transport through soil-like media, with implications for assessing the risk of microplastic groundwater contamination following soil remediation treatments.

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

Preliminary investigation on effects of size, polymer type, and surface behaviour on the vertical mobility of microplastics in a porous media

Laboratory sand column experiments investigated how microplastic size, polymer type, and surface chemistry influence retention and transport behavior in subsurface environments. Results showed that smaller particles and those with surface modifications traveled farther, informing predictions of microplastic migration in soils and groundwater.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 69 citations
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

Effects of co-present mineral colloids on the transport of microplastics in porous media: The key role of hydrochemical and hydrodynamic conditions

Scientists studied how tiny plastic particles (microplastics) move through soil and sand when mixed with natural clay particles. They found that the combination of different clay types and water conditions can either help microplastics travel further underground or trap them in place. This research helps us better understand how microplastics might contaminate groundwater sources that provide our drinking water.

2026 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic insights into the co-transport of microplastic degradation products in saturated porous media: The key role of microplastics-derived DOM

Researchers investigated the co-transport of microplastic-derived dissolved organic matter (MP-DOM) and aged microplastics (AMPs) through saturated porous media under a range of environmentally relevant conditions. They found that as the degree of aging increased, changes in physicochemical characteristics of both AMPs and MP-DOM altered their transport behaviour, with MP-DOM playing a key role in the co-transport dynamics.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate and transport of nanoplastics in complex natural aquifer media: Effect of particle size and surface functionalization

Researchers used batch and column experiments in a natural sandy aquifer to show that nanoplastic transport is governed primarily by organic matter coatings rather than particle size or surface chemistry alone, with suspended organic matter increasing mobility while dissolved organic matter reduces it — findings that improve predictions of nanoplastic contamination in agricultural groundwater systems.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 186 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport and deposition of microplastic particles in saturated porous media: Co-effects of clay particles and natural organic matter

Researchers performed column experiments to study how clay particles and natural organic matter affect microplastic transport through saturated porous media, finding that both colloids reduced MP mobility through heteroaggregation and that their combined presence produced the greatest reduction in transport.

2021 Environmental Pollution 124 citations