Papers

20 results
|
Article Tier 2

Influence of polymer age and soil aggregation on microplastic transport in soil erosion events

Researchers compared the transport rates of pristine and aged polystyrene microplastics during simulated rainfall events and quantified their incorporation into soil aggregates across multiple wet-dry cycles, providing the first empirical data on how surface roughness and hydrophobicity changes from weathering affect MP mobility in soil erosion.

2024
Article Tier 2

Retention and remobilization of aged polystyrene (PS) microplastics in a porous medium under wet-dry cycling

Researchers examined how photoaging affects the retention and remobilization of polystyrene microplastics in unsaturated porous media (sea sand) under multiple wet-dry cycling conditions, quantifying how aging-induced physicochemical changes alter MP transport dynamics in unsaturated soil zones.

2025 Frontiers in Environmental Science
Article Tier 2

UV-ageing effects on polystyrene microplastics surface polarity and transport in soils

Researchers found that UV sunlight exposure changes polystyrene microplastics by adding oxygen-containing groups to their surfaces, which makes the particles move differently through soil. The UV-aged particles became smaller and had altered surface charges, affecting how far they could travel through sand and soil. This matters because it shows that weathered microplastics in the environment behave differently than fresh ones, potentially reaching groundwater and other water sources more easily.

2025 Environmental Challenges 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Aging Significantly Affects Mobility and Contaminant-Mobilizing Ability of Nanoplastics in Saturated Loamy Sand

Researchers studied how aging from UV light and ozone exposure affects the mobility of nanoplastics in soil and found that aged particles traveled much farther through the soil column than pristine ones. The aged nanoplastics also carried more chemical contaminants with them as they moved. The findings suggest that weathered nanoplastics in the environment may pose greater risks for groundwater contamination than previously assumed.

2019 Environmental Science & Technology 424 citations
Article Tier 2

The transport of polystyrene microplastics in saturated porous media: Impacts of functional groups and solution chemistry

Researchers studied how surface chemistry and water conditions affect the movement of polystyrene microplastics through sand, comparing unmodified particles with those carrying carboxyl or amino groups that mimic natural aging. They found that factors like water acidity, salt concentration, and the type of chemical groups on the plastic surface all significantly influenced how far the particles traveled. The study provides important insights into how weathered microplastics may spread through soil and groundwater differently than fresh particles.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport of reduced PBAT microplastics in saturated porous media: Synergistic effects of enhanced surface energy and roughness

This study examined how biodegradable PBAT microplastics move through soil after undergoing chemical aging in oxygen-depleted environments. Researchers found that the aging process changed the surface properties of the plastics, making them more mobile in some conditions, which has important implications for understanding how degraded microplastics spread through groundwater systems.

2024 Water Research 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of microplastic types and aging degrees on the transport behavior of marine oil spills

The transport behavior of microplastics through soil was found to vary significantly based on both the type of plastic polymer and the degree of aging (weathering), with aged particles generally showing different mobility than virgin ones. This means predictions of microplastic spread in soils must account for the weathering state of the particles.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The influence of oxidation and hydrophobic coupling on the transport behavior of polyethylene microplastics: The synergistic effect of ultraviolet aging and surfactants

Researchers investigated how ultraviolet aging and surfactant attachment interact to influence the transport behavior of polyethylene microplastics, finding that UV oxidation increases oxygen-containing surface groups and reduces hydrophobicity, which in turn alters surfactant adsorption and modifies particle mobility in environmental systems. The study addresses a gap in understanding the coupled effects of oxidative aging and surface chemistry on microplastic transport.

2025 Environmental Pollution
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

Sorption of organic compounds by aged polystyrene microplastic particles

Researchers tested the sorption of organic compounds by aged polystyrene microplastic particles and found that weathering increased their sorption capacity, meaning environmental aging makes microplastics more effective at accumulating and transporting pollutants.

2018 Environmental Pollution 558 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-impacts of cation type and humic acid on migration of polystyrene microplastics in saturated porous media

Researchers investigated how different cation types and humic acid concentrations affect the movement of polystyrene microplastics through saturated soil. The study found that aging accelerated microplastic migration under all conditions, while calcium ions and humic acid had complex interactive effects on microplastic transport and retention in porous media.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport of polystyrene nanoplastics in natural soils: Effect of soil properties, ionic strength and cation type

Researchers used column experiments across three soil types to show that polystyrene nanoplastic transport is governed by soil iron and aluminum oxide content and pH — with high-pH, low-oxide soils allowing up to 97% nanoplastic passage — and that calcium ions and higher ionic strength significantly increase retention, revealing that soil chemistry strongly controls nanoplastic mobility toward groundwater.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 290 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

Microplastic removal from urban stormwater: Current treatments and research gaps

Researchers investigated the phototransformation of polystyrene microplastics under simulated solar radiation, finding surface oxidation and formation of carbonyl groups after UV exposure. Photo-aged particles showed increased release of dissolved organic carbon and greater toxicity to marine copepods.

2022 Journal of Environmental Management 57 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastic aging on its detectability and physico-chemical properties in loess and sandy soil

This study compared fresh microplastics to aged particles collected from soil and found that weathering significantly changes their physical and chemical properties, including making them more mobile. Aged microplastics may behave very differently in the environment than the pristine particles typically used in laboratory studies.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport of functional group modified polystyrene nanoplastics in binary metal oxide saturated porous media

Researchers found that the surface functional groups of polystyrene nanoplastics significantly influenced their transport behavior through binary metal oxide porous media, with solution chemistry and the specific combination of metal oxides playing key roles in determining nanoplastic mobility in soil environments.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Aging mechanism of microplastics with UV irradiation and its effects on the adsorption of heavy metals

Researchers aged polystyrene microplastics using UV irradiation under three conditions (air, pure water, seawater) and found that aging changed surface chemistry and increased the microplastics' capacity to adsorb heavy metals, with seawater aging producing the most pronounced surface oxidation.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 852 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into the characteristics and sorption behaviors of aged polystyrene microplastics through three type of accelerated oxidation processes

Researchers studied how three different UV-based oxidation processes age polystyrene microplastics and how that aging affects the particles' ability to absorb the chemical bisphenol A. They found that aging significantly increased the surface oxidation and water-attracting properties of the microplastics, altering their pollutant-sorbing behavior. The findings suggest that weathered microplastics in the environment may interact with chemical contaminants differently than fresh ones.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 214 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polystyrene fragments on the transport of Pb2+ in saturated porous media: The role of microplastics characteristics and flow velocity

Researchers studied how polystyrene microplastic fragments affect the movement of lead through saturated porous media like soil and groundwater systems. They found that microplastics generally promoted lead mobility, with the effect increasing as particle size, dosage, and flow velocity increased. The enhanced lead transport was attributed to microplastics reducing the ability of surrounding media to absorb the metal and altering pore structure, raising concerns about co-contamination risks in groundwater.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of solution chemistry and humic acid on transport and deposition of aged microplastics in unsaturated porous media

Researchers used column experiments to investigate how aging, ionic strength, cation type, and humic acid affect the transport of microplastics through unsaturated sandy soil. Aged microplastics with more negative surface charge transported more readily than pristine particles, and humic acid and calcium ions both affected transport in ways dependent on their concentrations.

2022 Chemosphere 48 citations