Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Effects of arsenic on the transport and attachment of microplastics in porous media

Researchers studied how arsenic, a common groundwater contaminant, affects the movement of microplastics through soil. They found that arsenic in water generally reduced how far microplastics traveled by promoting their attachment to soil particles, though this effect depended on arsenic concentration, water flow speed, and soil moisture levels. The findings help predict how microplastics and heavy metals may interact and spread together in underground water systems.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic stimulates metalloid leaching from historically contaminated soil via indirect displacement

Researchers found that negatively charged polystyrene nanoplastics unexpectedly enhanced arsenic leaching from historically contaminated soil by displacing arsenic from soil binding sites rather than through direct adsorption, challenging assumptions about nanoplastic contaminant co-transport.

2022 Water Research 30 citations
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

Conventional and biodegradable microplastics affected arsenic mobility and methylation in paddy soils through distinct chemical-microbial pathways

A 98-day paddy soil experiment found that conventional microplastics reduced arsenic in porewater but increased methylated arsenic fractions, while biodegradable microplastics increased both porewater arsenic and methylation, suggesting distinct chemical-microbial pathways affecting arsenic mobility and toxicity.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of solution chemistry and humic acid on the transport of polystyrene microplastics in manganese oxides coated sand

Column experiments showed that polystyrene microplastics had significantly lower mobility through manganese oxide-coated sand than bare sand due to electrostatic attraction and surface roughness, with humic acid increasing transport and co-transport with cadmium reducing it.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 109 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect and mechanism of coexistence of microplastics on arsenate adsorption capacity in water

Researchers examined how the presence of microplastics affects the ability of different materials to adsorb arsenate from contaminated water. They found that microplastics can interfere with the adsorption process, particularly by competing for binding sites on adsorbent materials like ZIF-8. The study highlights that co-contamination of water with both microplastics and heavy metals may complicate pollution remediation efforts.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and nanoplastics barely enhance contaminant mobility in agricultural soils

A mesocosm study found that micro- and nanoplastics in agricultural soils had minimal effect on the mobility of sorbed organic contaminants toward deeper soil layers, suggesting that concerns about plastics significantly enhancing contaminant transport to groundwater may be overstated under typical field conditions.

2021 Communications Earth & Environment 77 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene and low-density polyethylene pellets are less effective in arsenic adsorption than uncontaminated river sediment

Researchers found that polystyrene and low-density polyethylene microplastic pellets adsorb significantly less arsenic than natural river sediment, suggesting microplastics may actually reduce arsenic mobility when mixed with contaminated sediments.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 6 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

The role of microplastics in altering arsenic fractionation and microbial community structures in arsenic-contaminated riverine sediments

The addition of microplastics to arsenic-contaminated riverine sediments altered arsenic fractionation and shifted microbial community structures, with biodegradable plastics producing different effects compared to conventional polymers. The study demonstrates that microplastics can modify the environmental behavior of co-existing toxic metals in sediment ecosystems.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine microplastics enhance release of arsenic in coastal aquifer during seawater intrusion process

Researchers found that marine microplastics carried by seawater intrusion into coastal aquifers enhanced arsenic release from sediments, with negatively charged microplastics competing with arsenate for adsorption sites on iron minerals. The study identifies a new environmental risk from the interaction of two major coastal contaminants.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 6 citations
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

Transport of polystyrene microplastics in bare and iron oxide-coated quartz sand: Effects of ionic strength, humic acid, and co-existing graphene oxide

Researchers investigated how graphene oxide nanoparticles and humic acid influence the transport of polystyrene microplastics through sand columns, comparing bare quartz sand with iron oxide-coated sand. They found that iron oxide-coated sand strongly retained microplastics regardless of other factors, while graphene oxide significantly promoted microplastic transport by increasing surface charge and creating steric barriers. The study suggests that the co-presence of nanomaterials and organic matter in the environment can significantly alter how microplastics move through soil and groundwater systems.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 11 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

Impact of Microplastics on the Fate and Behaviour of Arsenic in the Environment and Their Significance for Drinking Water Supply

This review highlights a largely overlooked problem: microplastics in the environment can adsorb arsenic — one of the world's most dangerous water contaminants — onto their surfaces and potentially transport it to new locations or make it harder to remove during drinking water treatment. The authors call for urgent research into how the presence of microplastics affects the performance of arsenic removal technologies, since both pollutants now co-occur in water sources globally.

2023 Processes 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Interface adsorption characteristics of microplastics on multiple morphological arsenic compounds

Researchers studied how polystyrene and PET microplastics adsorb different forms of arsenic, a toxic element commonly found in contaminated water. They found that polystyrene had a much higher capacity to bind arsenic compounds than PET, and that the arsenic-loaded microplastics were more toxic to organisms than either pollutant alone. The study highlights that microplastics can act as carriers for toxic heavy metals, amplifying their environmental harm.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Cotransport and deposition of biochar with different sized-plastic particles in saturated porous media

Researchers studied how biochar and plastic particles (nanoplastics and microplastics) mutually affect each other's transport through water-saturated sand, finding that small plastic particles enhanced biochar mobility while biochar consistently suppressed plastic particle transport across all sizes, due to heteroaggregation altering surface charge and steric interactions.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 96 citations
Article Tier 2

Behavior, mechanisms and hazardous changes of interactions with microplastics when heterogeneous pollutants coexist: Arsenic and thiram

Researchers studied how six types of microplastics interact with arsenic and the pesticide thiram when these pollutants coexist. They found that both contaminants adsorb onto microplastics through physical diffusion and chemical processes in a competitive and synergistic manner. While the adsorbed pollutants did not significantly increase acute environmental toxicity, the study suggests they may pose a stronger potential hazard to human health.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
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

Arsenic adsorption by carboxylate and amino modified polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics: kinetics and mechanisms

Researchers found that functionalized polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics can adsorb arsenic from water, with carboxylate-modified particles showing higher capacity than amino-modified ones, and that salinity and humic acids inhibit adsorption, confirming microplastics can alter arsenic behavior in ecosystems.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 30 citations