Papers

20 results
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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 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

Nanoplastics dominate the cotransport of small-scale plastics in seawater-saturated porous media

Researchers found that nanoplastics dominated cotransport behavior when mixed with submicro- and microplastics in seawater-saturated sandy porous media, with particle-particle interactions significantly altering transport distances compared to single-component systems.

2022 Water Research 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport and retardation of microplastic in biochar

Researchers studied how biochar — a carbon material made from burned biomass — slows the movement of microplastics through soil and water systems. Biochar's ability to retard microplastic transport could help prevent plastic particles from spreading from contaminated agricultural land into waterways.

2023 Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) 1 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

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

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

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 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

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

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

Coupled Influence of Magnetic Biochar and Solution Chemistries on Retention and Release of Nanoplastics in Porous Media

This study examined how magnetic biochar — a carbon-based material used in soil and groundwater remediation — affects the movement and retention of nanoplastics in porous soil-like media under varying water chemistry conditions. Magnetic biochar significantly increased nanoplastic retention and reduced their mobility through the porous medium, and the effect depended on the nanoplastics' surface chemistry, ionic strength, and the presence of organic matter. The findings suggest that adding biochar to contaminated soils could be a practical strategy to reduce the spread of nanoplastics through groundwater systems.

2025 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of Nano- and Microplastic Particles on the Transport and Deposition Behaviors of Bacteria in Quartz Sand

Laboratory column experiments showed that nano- and microplastic particles significantly altered the transport and deposition of bacteria in porous quartz sand, with plastic particles either facilitating or inhibiting bacterial mobility depending on size and surface charge. The findings suggest that microplastics in soil and sediment environments could affect the spread of bacteria, including potential pathogens.

2018 Environmental Science & Technology 175 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

Adsorptive behavior of micro(nano)plastics through biochar: Co-existence, consequences, and challenges in contaminated ecosystems

This review examines how biochar can adsorb micro- and nanoplastics with over 90% removal efficiency in aqueous systems, while also discussing their combined effects on soil properties, microbial communities, and plant growth.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 138 citations
Article Tier 2

Addition of biochar as thin preamble layer into sand filtration columns could improve the microplastics removal from water

Researchers found that adding a thin biochar layer to sand filtration columns greatly improved microplastic removal from water, with biochar produced at higher pyrolysis temperatures performing better due to stronger electrostatic interactions with plastic particles.

2022 Water Research 89 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 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

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

Impact of biochar coexistence with polar/nonpolar microplastics on phenanthrene sorption in soil

Researchers found that when microplastics and biochar coexist in soil, nonpolar polyethylene weakens soil particle adhesion to biochar more than polar PBAT, affecting the sorption behavior of the pollutant phenanthrene in agricultural soils.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 37 citations