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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Fate and transport of nanoplastics in complex natural aquifer media: Effect of particle size and surface functionalization
ClearEco-Corona Dictates Mobility of Nanoplastics in Saturated Porous Media: The Critical Role of Preferential Binding of Macromolecules
The eco-corona that forms on nanoplastic surfaces through interaction with humic substances and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) was found to critically determine nanoplastic mobility through saturated porous media. Humic-coated nanoplastics showed greater mobility than EPS-coated ones, suggesting natural organic matter composition governs nanoplastic transport in groundwater systems.
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.
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.
Microplastics and nanoplastics barely enhance contaminant mobility in agricultural soils
A mesocosm study found that micro- and nanoplastics in agricultural soils had minimal effect on the mobility of sorbed organic contaminants toward deeper soil layers, suggesting that concerns about plastics significantly enhancing contaminant transport to groundwater may be overstated under typical field conditions.
Micro- and nanoplastics retention in porous media exhibits different dependence on grain surface roughness and clay coating with particle size
Researchers found that grain surface roughness and clay coatings affect the retention of microplastics and nanoplastics in porous media differently depending on particle size, with nanoplastics behaving oppositely to microplastics in certain soil conditions — complicating predictions of plastic transport in groundwater systems.
Interplay between microplastics and natural organic matter in association with environmental processes
This review explores how microplastics interact with natural organic matter—the dissolved and particulate carbon that permeates soils and waterways—and how these interactions alter microplastic transport, surface chemistry, and biological availability. Because natural organic matter coats microplastics and changes their behavior, ignoring this interplay leads to underestimates of how far and how dangerously microplastics spread through ecosystems.
Surfactant-mediated transport of polyvinyl chloride nanoplastics in porous media: Influence of natural organic matter, natural inorganic ligands and electrolytes
Researchers studied how surfactants affect the movement of polyvinyl chloride nanoplastics through soil and groundwater systems. They found that surfactants, particularly anionic ones, significantly enhance nanoplastic transport through porous materials, while certain minerals and organic matter can either help or hinder movement. The findings are important for understanding how nanoplastics spread through subsurface environments and potentially contaminate groundwater.
Impact of different modes of adsorption of natural organic matter on the environmental fate of nanoplastics
Natural organic matter in water can stabilize nanoplastics by coating their surfaces and preventing them from clumping together and settling out, with different types of organic matter working through different physical mechanisms. Understanding this stabilization effect is important for predicting how long nanoplastics remain suspended in aquatic environments.
Why nanoplastics do not enhance the transport of contaminants in the critical zone
Researchers investigated whether nanoplastics enhance the co-transport of emerging contaminants through agricultural soils in the critical zone, examining the correlation between transport and desorption timescales to challenge the assumption that high surface area and sorption potential of nanoplastics substantially increases contaminant mobility toward groundwater.
Decreased transport of nano- and micro-plastics in the presence of low-molecular-weight organic acids in saturated quartz sand.
Laboratory experiments showed that common organic acids found in soil — citric, malic, and tartaric acid — significantly reduced the movement of polystyrene nano- and microplastics through saturated sand. This finding suggests that soil organic chemistry influences how microplastics migrate toward groundwater, which has implications for drinking water contamination in agricultural areas.
Influence of Concentration, Surface Charge, and Natural Water Components on the Transport and Adsorption of Polystyrene Nanoplastics in Sand Columns
Laboratory column experiments showed that nanoplastics made of polystyrene behave very differently in groundwater depending on their surface charge — positively charged particles were retained much more readily in sand than negatively charged ones, and the presence of natural organic matter in real lake water reduced the retention of both types. These findings matter for understanding whether nanoplastics released into the environment will travel through soil and reach drinking water sources, which depends critically on the plastic's surface chemistry.
Effect of Agricultural Organic Inputs on Nanoplastics Transport in Saturated Goethite-Coated Porous Media: Particle Size Selectivity and Role of Dissolved Organic Matter
Researchers examined how dissolved organic matter from agricultural inputs like biochar, wheat straw, and swine manure affects nanoplastic transport through goethite-coated porous media, finding that DOM type and nanoparticle size selectively influence mobility.
Impactof Minerals(Ferrihydrite and Goethite) andTheir Organo-Mineral Complexes on Fate and Transport of Nanoplasticsin the Riverine and Terrestrial Environments
Researchers investigated how iron minerals ferrihydrite and goethite, along with their organo-mineral complexes, influence the mobility and transport of nanoplastics in riverine and terrestrial environments, finding that organic matter coatings substantially alter nanoplastic behavior compared to pure mineral phases.
Enhanced mobility and dynamic retention of nanoplastics in mineral coated porous media.
Scientists studied how tiny plastic particles move through different types of soil and sand that might be found in groundwater systems. They discovered that these nanoplastics travel much farther and faster through soil than previously thought, especially when water flows quickly. This matters because it suggests that plastic pollution from things like food packaging and cosmetics could spread more widely through our drinking water sources than we realized.
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.
Cotransport of nanoplastics and plastic additive bisphenol AF (BPAF) in unsaturated hyporheic zone: Coupling effects of surface functionalization and protein corona
Researchers examined how surface modifications and protein coatings affect the movement of nanoplastics and the plastic additive bisphenol AF through simulated riverbed sediments. The study found that both surface functionalization and protein corona formation significantly altered the transport behavior and retention of nanoplastics in unsaturated soil conditions. Evidence indicates that environmental transformations of nanoplastic surfaces play a key role in determining how plastics and associated contaminants spread through hyporheic zones.
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.
Ligand-selective complexation of natural organic matter with Mg2+ modulates nanoplastic transport in seawater-saturated porous media
Researchers showed that the type of natural organic matter coating on nanoplastics — not just its presence — controls whether particles clump and settle or stay mobile in seawater, with tannic acid forming tight magnesium bridges that aggregate particles while humic and fulvic acids maintain colloidal stability and enhance transport.
Characteristics and Driving Mechanism of Soil Organic Carbon Content in Farmland of Beijing Plain: Implication for the Fate of Engineered Polymers in Soil
This study examined how soil organic matter affects the transport of ions and particles in agricultural soils, relevant to understanding how microplastics interact with soil chemistry. Soil organic carbon content significantly influenced the mobility of contaminants through soil systems.
Microplastics transport in soils: A critical review
Researchers reviewed how microplastics move through soil, finding that their transport depends on a complex mix of particle properties, soil chemistry, water flow, and biological activity — and that these factors often interact in ways that produce contradictory results across studies. The review maps these knowledge gaps and calls for more controlled experiments to predict where microplastics accumulate and how they might reach groundwater or crops.
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.
Deposition of environmentally relevant nanoplastic models in sand during transport experiments
This study tracked how environmentally relevant nanoplastic models move through sand columns in laboratory conditions, finding they can be transported substantial distances in groundwater. The findings raise concerns about nanoplastic contamination of soil and aquifer systems, which are critical sources of drinking water.
Quantitative Linking of Nanoscale Interactions to Continuum-Scale Nanoparticle and Microplastic Transport in Environmental Granular Media
Researchers successfully linked the atomic-scale forces between plastic nanoparticles and sand grains to predictions of how those particles move through soil and groundwater at larger scales. This advances the ability to model microplastic transport in the environment, which is important for assessing contamination of drinking water sources.
Cotransport of different electrically charged microplastics with PFOA in saturated porous media
Researchers examined how differently charged microplastics co-transport with PFOA through saturated porous media, finding that surface charge significantly influences both MP mobility and PFOA transport behavior, with implications for groundwater contamination.