Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Aggregation Behavior of Particulate Plastics and Its Implications

This chapter reviews how microplastics aggregate with each other and with natural particles like sediment and algae in water, affecting their transport, fate, and biological availability. Heteroaggregation with natural colloids is more common than microplastic-to-microplastic clumping, which has important implications for how microplastics move through aquatic environments.

2020
Article Tier 2

Heteroaggregation of nanoplastic particles in the presence of inorganic colloids and natural organic matter

Nanoplastics were found to heteroaggregate extensively with inorganic colloids and natural organic matter in both freshwater and marine conditions, altering their size, surface charge, and settling behavior compared to pristine particles. The study demonstrates that nanoplastic behavior in natural waters is dominated by interactions with other environmental constituents rather than the intrinsic properties of the plastic alone.

2018 Environmental Science Nano 227 citations
Article Tier 2

Hybrid modeling of hetero-agglomeration processes: a framework for model selection and arrangement

Researchers developed a hybrid modeling framework for hetero-agglomeration processes — the clumping together of different particle types — to better predict how microplastics interact with natural particles in aquatic environments. The framework helps select appropriate models for different environmental conditions and particle combinations.

2023 Engineering With Computers 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoparticle Heteroagglomeration with Natural and Synthetic Suspended Particulate Matter

Researchers reviewed nanoparticle heteroagglomeration with natural and synthetic suspended particulate matter in aquatic environments, examining how the kinetics of agglomeration between nanoplastics, manufactured nanomaterials, and SPM affect nanoparticle transport and risk assessment in river systems.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction, Adhesion and Aggregation of Microplastic/Nanoplastic Particles: Effects of Plastic Polymer Type

This review examines how polymer type, particle size, shape, pH, ionic strength, and salt composition influence the interaction, adhesion, and aggregation behavior of microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic and soil environments. The paper synthesizes findings on homoaggregation and heteroaggregation with natural and engineered nanoparticles, highlighting how aggregation affects particle transport and environmental fate.

2023 Asian Journal of Water Environment and Pollution 3 citations
Article Tier 2

A review of microplastics aggregation in aquatic environment: Influence factors, analytical methods, and environmental implications

This review examines how microplastics clump together in aquatic environments, a behavior called aggregation that affects where they end up and how available they are to organisms. Researchers evaluated the factors that influence aggregation, including water chemistry, particle size, and the presence of natural organic matter. The study identifies important gaps in field research and calls for standardized methods to better understand how aggregation shapes the environmental fate of microplastics.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 353 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of the Surface Hydrophobicity–Morphology–Functionality of Nanoplastics on Their Homoaggregation in Seawater

Researchers found that nanoplastic surface hydrophobicity, morphology, and functional chemistry strongly govern homoaggregation behavior in aquatic environments, with more hydrophobic and functionalized particles forming larger, faster-settling aggregates that alter their environmental fate and bioavailability.

2022 ACS ES&T Water 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Heteroaggregation kinetics of oppositely charged nanoplastics in aquatic environments: Effects of particle ratio, solution chemistry, and interaction sequence

Researchers investigated how oppositely charged nanoplastics clump together (heteroaggregation) in water under varying pH, salt, and natural organic matter conditions, finding that electrostatic attraction drives aggregation but humic acid retards it more than sodium alginate, while the sequence and timing of chemical interactions also significantly alters the final aggregation behavior.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Statistical Thermodynamic Description of Heteroaggregation between Anthropogenic Particulate Matter and Natural Particles in Aquatic Environments

Researchers developed a thermodynamic model to describe how nanoparticles and microplastics aggregate with each other and with natural particles in aquatic environments. Understanding aggregation processes is critical for predicting how microplastics move through water systems and where they ultimately settle.

2021 ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Strategies for determining heteroaggregation attachment efficiencies of engineered nanoparticles in aquatic environments

Researchers developed strategies for determining heteroaggregation attachment efficiencies of engineered nanoparticles with suspended particulate matter in aquatic environments, providing a practical roadmap for understanding nanoparticle fate in natural water systems.

2020 Environmental Science Nano 85 citations
Article Tier 2

Heteroaggregation, disaggregation, and migration of nanoplastics with nanosized activated carbon in aquatic environments: Effects of particle property, water chemistry, and hydrodynamic condition

Researchers studied how nanosized activated carbon interacts with positively and negatively charged nanoplastics under various water chemistry and hydrodynamic conditions. They found that aggregation behavior depended strongly on particle charge, pH, and the presence of natural organic matter like humic acid. The study suggests that interactions with engineered nanomaterials in aquatic environments can significantly influence how far nanoplastics travel, with implications for predicting their environmental fate.

2024 Water Research 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Both nanoplastic and iron mineral types determine their heteroaggregation: Aggregation kinetics and interface process

Researchers measured how four types of nanoplastics aggregate with iron minerals and found that surface chemistry drives the outcome — with PMMA forming the strongest heteroaggregates and carboxyl-modified particles the weakest — and that electron transfer from nanoplastics to hematite partially reduces iron, with implications for aquatic iron cycling.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of Shape on Heteroaggregation of Model Microplastics: A Simulation Study

This simulation study examined how the shape of microplastic particles (spheres vs. fibers vs. fragments) affects how they clump together (heteroaggregate) with natural organic matter in water. Particle shape influences how far microplastics travel, where they settle, and how available they are to aquatic organisms.

2023 arXiv (Cornell University) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Flocculation with heterogeneous composition in water environments: A review

This review examines how particles of different compositions, including minerals, organic matter, microplastics, and biological material, clump together through flocculation in natural water environments. Researchers found that the mixed composition of these clusters significantly affects how pollutants are transported and deposited in rivers, estuaries, and oceans. Understanding flocculation processes is important for predicting how microplastics and other contaminants move through and settle in aquatic systems.

2022 Water Research 98 citations
Article Tier 2

Sediment organic carbon dominates the heteroaggregation of suspended sediment and nanoplastics in natural and surfactant-polluted aquatic environments

Researchers found that sediment organic carbon plays a dominant role in the heteroaggregation of nanoplastics with suspended sediment particles, with surfactant pollution altering aggregation dynamics and influencing the environmental transport and fate of nanoplastics in aquatic systems.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Aquatic Aggregates as “Vector” for Microplastics

This review examines how microplastics interact with aquatic aggregates — clumps of organic matter, clay, and other particles formed through flocculation in natural waters. Aggregation affects microplastic transport by changing their effective density and size, influencing whether they sink, float, or remain suspended. Understanding these interactions is key to accurately predicting where microplastics end up in aquatic environments.

2023
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics Aggregation in Environment: Analytical Methods and Environmental Implications

This review examines how nanoplastics aggregate in the environment—clumping together or attaching to other particles—and how this affects their analysis and ecological impact. Aggregation changes how nanoplastics move through water and accumulate in organisms, complicating risk assessment for these extremely small plastic particles.

2021 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science
Article Tier 2

The environmental fate of nanoplastics: What we know and what we need to know about aggregation

Researchers systematically analyzed experimental studies on nanoplastic aggregation behavior, evaluating the environmental relevance of 377 solution chemistries and 163 particle models. The study found that commonly used polymer latex spheres do not accurately represent real-world nanoplastics, and suggests that incidentally produced nanoplastics may be more sensitive to heteroaggregation than previously expected.

2023 NanoImpact 129 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Aquatic Environments: Aggregation, Deposition, and Enhanced Contaminant Transport

This review examined the aggregation, deposition, and transport of microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic environments, synthesizing how particle properties and water chemistry govern their fate and mobility in rivers, lakes, and oceans.

2017 Environmental Science & Technology 2491 citations
Article Tier 2

How do microplastics interact with other particles in aquatic environments?

This study investigates how microplastics interact with other particles in aquatic environments, examining the physical and chemical mechanisms governing aggregation, adsorption, and co-transport of microplastics with suspended particles. The research is hosted on the Experiment platform for open scientific discovery funding and sharing.

2024
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

Agglomeration of nano- and microplastic particles in seawater by autochthonous and de novo-produced sources of exopolymeric substances

Nano- and microplastic particles in seawater were found to readily form agglomerates with naturally produced exopolymeric substances, altering their surface properties, size, and sinking behavior compared to pristine particles. The study demonstrates that natural organic matter in seawater fundamentally changes how plastic particles behave and interact with marine organisms and sediments.

2018 Marine Pollution Bulletin 165 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of iron/aluminum (hydr)oxide and clay minerals on heteroaggregation and transport of nanoplastics in aquatic environment

Researchers examined how polystyrene nanoplastics interact with nine different minerals in aquatic environments, finding that positively charged iron and aluminum (hydr)oxide minerals readily form aggregates with nanoplastics through electrostatic and hydrophobic forces, while humic acid and shifting pH significantly suppress this aggregation.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 68 citations
Article Tier 2

Further research on the impacts of humic acid in the aggregation of nanoplastics: The roles of molecular weight and surface functionalization

Researchers studied how humic acid — a natural compound found in soil and water — coats nanoplastic particles and changes how they clump together, finding that larger humic acid molecules create thicker coatings that keep nanoplastics suspended and dispersed rather than settling. This matters because dispersed nanoplastics travel farther through water systems and are more likely to be ingested by organisms.

2025 Results in Engineering 3 citations