Particle Size and Pre-Treatment Effects on Polystyrene Microplastic Settlement in Water: Implications for Environmental Behavior and Ecotoxicological Tests

Eitzen, Lars; Ruhl, Aki Sebastian; Jekel, Martin

doi:10.3390/w12123436

Cited by 14 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Thus, the formation of aggregates was prevented, despite elevated MP concentrations. Within aquatic environments, adsorption of natural organic matter 56 as well as decreased surface hydrophobicity due to weathering 57 can promote stabilization of MPs. Immediately before each dosage, stock suspensions were rehomogenized by shaking.…”

Section: ■ Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Settling Velocities of Small Microplastic Fragments and Fibers

Dittmar,

Ruhl,

Altmann

et al. 2024

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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There is only sparse empirical data on the settling velocity of small, nonbuoyant microplastics thus far, although it is an important parameter governing their vertical transport within aquatic environments. This study reports the settling velocities of 4031 exemplary microplastic particles. Focusing on the environmentally most prevalent particle shapes, irregular microplastic fragments of four different polymer types (9–289 μm) and five discrete length fractions (50–600 μm) of common nylon and polyester fibers are investigated, respectively. All settling experiments are carried out in quiescent water by using a specialized optical imaging setup. The method has been previously validated in order to minimize disruptive factors, e.g., thermal convection or particle interactions, and thus enable the precise measurements of the velocities of individual microplastic particles (0.003–9.094 mm/s). Based on the obtained data, ten existing models for predicting a particle’s terminal settling velocity are assessed. It is concluded that models, which were specifically deduced from empirical data on larger microplastics, fail to provide accurate predictions for small microplastics. Instead, a different approach is highlighted as a viable option for computing settling velocities across the microplastics continuum in terms of size, density, and shape.

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Section: ■ Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Settling Velocities of Small Microplastic Fragments and Fibers

Dittmar,

Ruhl,

Altmann

et al. 2024

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…We assess if the study adopted procedures that enhance particle identification and counting. Sample treatment includes organic digestion, density separation, sieving and filtering 62 , 66 , 67 . Sieving is usually enough for particles >300 µm as the sizes are large enough to allow for adequate sorting.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The NOAA NCEI marine microplastics database

Nyadjro,

Webster,

Boyer

et al. 2023

Sci Data

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Microplastics (<5 mm) pollution is a growing problem affecting coastal communities, marine ecosystems, aquatic life, and human health. The widespread occurrence of marine microplastics, and the need to curb its threats, require expansive, and continuous monitoring. While microplastic research has increased in recent years and generated significant volumes of data, there is a lack of a robust, open access, and long-term aggregation of this data. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) now provides a global open access to marine microplastics data on an easily discoverable and accessible GIS web map and data portal (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/microplastics). The objective of this data portal is to develop a repository where microplastics data are aggregated, archived, and served in a user friendly, consistent, and reliable manner. This work contributes to NCEI’s efforts towards data standardization, integration, harmonization, and interoperability among national and international collaborators for monitoring global marine microplastics. This paper describes the NOAA NCEI global marine microplastics database, its creation, quality control procedures, and future directions.

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“…A major limitation of expanded polystyrene concrete is that they are extremely light with a density in the range of 10-50 kg/m 3 and this brings about segregation in mixing. Segregation encountered during mixing was solved by Eitzen, Ruhl [3] using a technology based upon special pre-treatment of expanded polystyrene particles. This gives the particles the ability to enter into concrete.…”

Section: Expanded Polystyrene Lightweight Building Block/concretementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the years, there has been a rapid rise in the consumption of plastics around the globe [1][2][3] The use of plastics in many industries such as packaging, automobile, and several constructions are on the rise [4] Plastics are quickly turning into a global challenge right from its discovery even though it has a great many applications. Researchers have shown that some of the chemicals used in the production of plastics are harmful to the environment and marine life [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A mini-review on expanded polystyrene waste recycling and its applications

Ugwu¹,

OBELE²

2023

World J. Adv. Eng. Technol. Sci.

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Over the years, waste recycling has been a growing concern among many nations of the world, especially in developing countries. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is used in electrical/electronic appliances as a shock absorber and constitutes a reasonable percentage of the entire plastic waste. There are three methods of recycling expanded polystyrene: mechanical, chemical, and thermal recycling; each of the above methods gives rise to different products that are used in different applications. Expanded polystyrene is used as a binder in emulsion paint as a replacement for conventional binders; as a component of asphalt used in road construction; as a component of wood plastic composites; as a blend with silica and in concrete to produce lightweight construction material. This article studied the various applications of recycled polystyrene waste from mechanical, chemical, and thermal methods of waste recycling.

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Particle Size and Pre-Treatment Effects on Polystyrene Microplastic Settlement in Water: Implications for Environmental Behavior and Ecotoxicological Tests

Cited by 14 publications

References 34 publications

Settling Velocities of Small Microplastic Fragments and Fibers

Settling Velocities of Small Microplastic Fragments and Fibers

The NOAA NCEI marine microplastics database

A mini-review on expanded polystyrene waste recycling and its applications

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