Dispersion and transport of microplastics in three water-saturated coastal soils. 2022

Xiangyang Gui, and Zhefan Ren, and Xiaoyun Xu, and Xiang Chen, and Ming Chen, and Yaqiang Wei, and Ling Zhao, and Hao Qiu, and Bin Gao, and Xinde Cao
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.

The coastal area is one of the key zones for transport and fate of microplastics (MPs). This study investigated the transport behaviors of different sized MPs in three water-saturated coastal soils, with the aim to explore effects of properties of three different coastal soils on the dispersion and migration of three-sized MPs (0.3, 0.5, and 1 µm). All three-sized MPs had the strongest dispersion in Soil 3 solution, followed by that in Soil 1 solution and then that in Soil 2 solution. The strongest dispersion of MPs in Soil 3 solution was attributed to the lowest ionic strength. Such a high dispersion favored MPs movement in soil solution but readily be sorbed and fixed by rich Fe and Al oxides in Soil 3 solid through strong electrostatic attraction, leading to the lowest transport rate (20.5-41.2%). The high ionic strength in the Soil 1 solution decreased the dispersion of MPs, but the presence of high content of humic acid enhanced the electrostatic repulsion and steric hindrance between MPs and soil particles, resulting in the highest transport ability of MPs in Soil 1 (39.4-72.5%). The large amount of dissolved Ca2+ and Mg2+ in Soil 2 solution favored MPs bridged with fulvic acid, resulting in the highest aggregation of MPs and relatively lower transport ability (34.1-49.6%). Large-sized MPs had higher electrostatic repulsion between the particles, thus increasing the dispersion and transport capacity of MPs in soil. Modeling showed the experiment-consistent results that Soil 3 had the lowest MPs transport after 600 mm of heavy rainfall, with the maximum migration distance of 7.50-10.5 cm, which was smaller than that in Soil 2 (8.10-12.0 cm) and that in Soil 1 (9.00-18.3 cm). These results indicated that MPs transport in coastal soil is significant and soil solution and solid composition plays an important role in the dispersion and transport of MPs, respectively. These findings afforded a great basis for the assessment of the fate and risk of MPs in coastal areas.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D010969 Plastics Polymeric materials (usually organic) of large molecular weight which can be shaped by flow. Plastic usually refers to the final product with fillers, plasticizers, pigments, and stabilizers included (versus the resin, the homogeneous polymeric starting material). (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed) Plastic
D000080545 Microplastics Plastic particles, less than 5 millimeters in diameter, that are generated from the degradation of larger pieces or are manufactured to be microstructures or smaller. Mesoplastics,Plastic Microparticles,Plastic Nanoparticles,Mesoplastic,Microparticle, Plastic,Microparticles, Plastic,Microplastic,Nanoparticle, Plastic,Nanoparticles, Plastic,Plastic Microparticle,Plastic Nanoparticle
D012987 Soil The unconsolidated mineral or organic matter on the surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants. Peat,Humus,Soils
D012989 Soil Pollutants Substances which pollute the soil. Use for soil pollutants in general or for which there is no specific heading. Soil Pollutant,Pollutant, Soil,Pollutants, Soil
D014867 Water A clear, odorless, tasteless liquid that is essential for most animal and plant life and is an excellent solvent for many substances. The chemical formula is hydrogen oxide (H2O). (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed) Hydrogen Oxide

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