Papers

61,005 results
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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 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 examine pore-scale transport and retention of polypropylene microfibers in porous media representative of agricultural soil, finding that fiber dimensions and elasticity strongly govern mobility and entrapment behavior. The study provides mechanistic insight into why agricultural soils accumulate microplastic fibers and how trapped fibers influence local flow dynamics.

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

Particulate flow in porous media: experimental study and numerical modelling of microplastic transport in geomaterials

This study combined laboratory experiments and numerical modeling to examine how microplastic particles migrate through porous geomaterials, finding that transport behavior is similar to fine soil particles moving through hydrogeological environments. The results have implications for predicting microplastic contamination of groundwater.

2024
Article Tier 2

Impact of Type and Shape of Microplastics on the Transport in Column Experiments

Controlled column experiments showed that microplastic particle shape and polymer type both influence how far microplastics travel through soil and aquifer material, with all tested types (polyamide, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester) being retarded compared to a dissolved tracer—fibers and fragments behaving differently from spheres. These findings help predict how microplastics contaminate groundwater and drinking water sources, and which particle characteristics most need to be targeted by filtration or remediation strategies.

2023 Ground Water 7 citations
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

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

Effect of particle density on microplastics transport in artificial and natural porous media

Researchers studied how the density of microplastic particles affects their movement through soil and sediment in laboratory column experiments. They found that lighter, less dense microplastics traveled farther and were retained less in the soil compared to denser particles, and that natural sediments captured more microplastics than uniform glass beads. The findings help explain how different types of microplastics spread through groundwater and soil environments at different rates.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 23 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

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

Infiltration Behavior of Microplastic Particles with Different Densities, Sizes, and Shapes—From Glass Spheres to Natural Sediments

Laboratory column experiments showed that microplastic infiltration depth in sediment increases as particle size decreases and sediment grain size increases, with spherical particles penetrating deepest and fibers infiltrating least. The results help define appropriate sampling depths for environmental microplastic monitoring depending on sediment type.

2020 Environmental Science & Technology 223 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigations on microplastic infiltration within natural riverbed sediments

Researchers used laboratory flume experiments to investigate how sediment grain size affects the infiltration of four types of microplastics (PET spheres, PET ellipsoids, polystyrene fragments, and polyamide fibers) into riverbed sediments. Sediment particle size, microplastic shape, and density were key factors controlling how deeply microplastics penetrate into the hyporheic zone.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 26 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 European Journal of Soil Science 9 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

Transport and retention of polyethylene microplastics in saturated porous media: Effect of physicochemical properties

Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics move through water-saturated sand and gravel, testing the effects of particle size, water chemistry, and flow speed. They found that smaller microplastics traveled farther through the porous material, while higher salt concentrations and lower flow rates increased particle retention. The findings help explain how microplastics may spread through groundwater systems under real-world conditions.

2025 Environmental Pollution and Management 2 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Numerical simulation of microplastic permeation in soil: from solutes to particles

Researchers developed numerical simulations to predict breakthrough curves for microplastic permeation through soil, accounting for particle size relative to pore dimensions, flow dynamics, particle-media interactions, and potential pore clogging to model accumulation and transport in complex porous structures.

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

Fate and transport of fragmented and spherical microplastics in saturated gravel and quartz sand

Researchers studied the fate and transport of fragmented and spherical microplastics through saturated gravel aquifer columns, finding that particle shape strongly influences transport distance, with fragments traveling farther than spheres.

2024 Journal of Environmental Quality 7 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

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
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Discover Polymers.
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

Clogging risk of microplastics particles in porous media during artificial recharge: a laboratory experiment

Researchers conducted laboratory experiments to assess the clogging risk that microplastic particles pose to porous media during managed aquifer recharge, a common groundwater replenishment technique. They found that most microplastics were intercepted in the surface layer of sand columns, with smaller particles causing more severe clogging and reduced hydraulic conductivity. The study suggests that microplastics entering groundwater recharge systems could compromise aquifer performance over time.

2024 Frontiers in Marine Science 11 citations