The vertical transport and fate of MPs-oil composite pollutants in nearshore environment.

J Hazard Mater

College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China; Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multiphasers and Earth System, and Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China. Electronic address:

Published: November 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • - This study explores how microplastics (MPs) combined with oil form aggregates (MOPAs) when interacting with particles in nearshore environments, affecting their vertical transport and fate.
  • - It was found that the majority of the MPs, particularly those with specific chemical groups, suspended in water columns, while particles in the sediment phase absorbed these composite pollutants, ultimately altering their structure and composition.
  • - Additionally, the research highlights that smaller degraded MPs and oil can resuspend in water, showing a decrease in mass and changing sizes of oil droplets during the degradation process, contributing to a better understanding of the behavior of these pollutants in aquatic environments.

Article Abstract

MPs-oil composite pollutants interact with particles to form MPs-oil-particles aggregates (MOPAs) in nearshore environment. In this study, we investigated vertical transport and fate of MPs-oil composite pollutants mediated by particles under various time scales, proposed and elucidated associated mechanisms. Majority of MPs with -CH suspended in water columns and particles with Si-O and O-H adsorbed MPs-oil composite pollutants in sediment phase, which caused differences in morphology structure and composition. The MOPAs with spherical or irregular three-dimensional in water columns can transport to sediment phase, resulting in more than 79 % lamellar MOPAs and more than 63 % oil in sediment phase. Besides, we demonstrated that degraded small-sized MPs-oil composite pollutants can resuspend into water columns. The mass of n-alkanes in sediment phase (< 45 μg) was lower than in water columns (< 120 μg) during degradation process. More importantly, during the intermediate stage of degradation, the size of oil droplets on surface of MPs decreased and particles trapped them to sediment phase, resulting in a V-shaped curve of mass changes of C-C in water columns. Our research fills the gap in the field of MPs-oil composite pollutants in water columns and sediment phase, which can provide theoretical support for their disposal.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136661DOI Listing

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