Papers

20 results
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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

Co-transport of polystyrene microplastics and kaolinite colloids in goethite-coated quartz sand: Joint effects of heteropolymerization and surface charge modification

Column experiments showed that kaolinite colloids enhanced polystyrene microplastic transport through quartz sand but had more complex effects in goethite-coated sand, where the promotion depended strongly on ionic strength conditions due to heteropolymerization and surface charge modification.

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

Impact of particle size and oxide phase on microplastic transport through iron oxide-coated sand

Researchers studied how different types of iron oxide coatings on sand affect the movement of polystyrene microplastics through soil. They found that magnetite-coated sand retained the most microplastics, while goethite-coated sand retained the least, with results matching theoretical predictions. The findings suggest that naturally iron-rich soils could serve as effective barriers to prevent microplastic transport through groundwater systems.

2024 Water Research 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic types dominate the effects of bismuth oxide semi-conductor nanoparticles on their transport in saturated quartz sand

Column transport experiments found that the type of microplastic (polystyrene vs. polyethylene vs. polypropylene) dominated the effects of bismuth oxide semiconductor nanoparticles on microplastic mobility in saturated quartz sand, with different polymer-nanoparticle combinations showing distinct transport and retention behaviors.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of Dissolved Organic Matters and Microplastics Regulates the Transport of Microplastics in Saturated Porous Media

Researchers studied how different types of dissolved organic matter affect the transport of polystyrene microplastics through saturated porous media. The study found that humic acid, bovine serum albumin, and sodium alginate all promoted microplastic mobility, with humic acid having the strongest effect due to electrostatic repulsion and steric hindrance mechanisms.

2024 ACS ES&T Engineering 14 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
Article Tier 2

[Transport and Model Calculation of Microplastics Under the Influence of Ionic Type, Strength, and Iron Oxide].

Laboratory column experiments showed that calcium ions strongly inhibit the transport of polystyrene microplastics through quartz sand via bridging and charge neutralization effects, while iron oxide coatings on sand grains further reduce microplastic mobility through surface adsorption. Understanding these transport dynamics is important for predicting how microplastics move through soil and groundwater systems and assessing contamination risks to drinking water sources.

2023 PubMed
Article Tier 2

Transport behavior of micro polyethylene particles in saturated quartz sand: Impacts of input concentration and physicochemical factors

Laboratory sand column experiments showed that polyethylene microplastic transport is inhibited by high ionic strength (as it reduces the repulsion between particles and sand grains) but enhanced by fulvic acid (which increases surface charge repulsion). The study provides mechanistic data for predicting how microplastics move through soils under different environmental chemical conditions.

2020 Environmental Pollution 153 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of ionic strength and particle size on transport of microplastic and humic acid in porous media

Column transport experiments tested how ionic strength and humic acid concentration influence the co-transport of colloidal polystyrene microplastics through saturated porous media. Humic acid increased microplastic mobility at low concentrations but the effect was reversed at high ionic strength due to charge screening, demonstrating complex interactions between environmental matrix chemistry and microplastic transport.

2022 Chemosphere 57 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-transport of arsenic and micro/nano-plastics in saturated soil

Column experiments found that 100 nm nanoplastic particles reduced arsenic transport in saturated sand by adsorbing arsenic ions, while 5 micron microplastics enhanced arsenic transport through electrostatic adsorption and pore plugging, demonstrating size-dependent and opposing effects of micro- and nanoplastics on co-contaminant mobility.

2023 Environmental Research 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport and retention of microplastics in saturated porous media with peanut shell biochar (PSB) and MgO-PSB amendment: Co-effects of cations and humic acid

Researchers investigated how humic acid and monovalent and divalent cations (sodium and calcium) interact to control microplastic transport through biochar-amended porous media, finding that MgO-modified peanut shell biochar retained 75.5% of incoming microplastics versus 34.2% for unamended sand. Calcium ions dominated over humic acid at higher ionic strength, while in sodium solutions humic acid was the primary control on transport.

2022 Environmental Pollution 64 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

Transport of nanoplastics in saturated porous media: Synergy of particle size, surface functional groups, and low molecular weight organic acids

Researchers systematically tested how particle size and surface functional groups interact with low-molecular-weight organic acids to control nanoplastic mobility through saturated sand columns, finding that carboxyl-coated particles became less mobile as size increased while amine-coated particles became more mobile, with citric acid providing stronger steric hindrance than lactic acid.

2026 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Role of surface functionalities of nanoplastics on their transport in seawater-saturated sea sand

Researchers examined the transport of surface-functionalized nanoplastics through seawater-saturated sea sand, finding that carboxyl-functionalized particles had the highest mobility while positively charged amino-functionalized particles showed lowest recovery due to stronger attraction to sand surfaces and homoaggregation.

2019 Environmental Pollution 134 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 characteristics of polystyrene microplastics in saturated porous media with biochar/Fe3O4-biochar under various chemical conditions

Biochar and iron oxide-modified biochar (Fe3O4-biochar) reduced the transport of polystyrene microplastics through sandy porous media by increasing surface attachment, with the effect modulated by humic acid concentration and ionic conditions. The findings suggest that biochar soil amendments could help immobilize MPs in contaminated agricultural soils and reduce their leaching to groundwater.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 62 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
Article Tier 2

Transport of eco-corona coated nanoplastics in coastal sediments

Researchers investigated how different surface properties and eco-corona coatings affect the transport of polystyrene nanoplastics through coastal marine sediments. They found that negatively charged particles moved more easily through sediment than positively charged ones, while strong aggregation essentially immobilized unmodified particles. The formation of natural organic coatings on nanoplastics had opposing effects depending on surface charge, sometimes enhancing and sometimes inhibiting transport.

2025 Water Research 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport and retention mechanism of microplastics in saturated porous media: Dominance of layer sequence and modulation by solution chemistry

Researchers found that the layered sequence of sand structures in saturated porous media dominates microplastic transport and retention patterns, with coarse-to-fine layering trapping more particles than fine-to-coarse sequences, and solution chemistry further modulating these physical effects.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Transport of polystyrene nanoplastics in porous media: Combined effects of two co-existing substances

Researchers studied how cationic and anionic surfactants interact with natural organic matter (humic acid and sodium alginate) to control polystyrene nanoplastic transport through porous media, finding that the dominant mobility mechanism switched from electrostatic (with cationic surfactants) to hydrophobic (with anionic surfactants), with organic matter amplifying each surfactant's effect.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 11 citations