Microplastic polymer type impacts water infiltration and its own transport in soil

Qihang Li; Anna Bogush; Marco Van De Wiel; Ran Holtzman

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2025.113193

Microplastic polymer type impacts water infiltration and its own transport in soil

Qihang Li
, Anna Bogush
, Marco Van De Wiel
, Ran Holtzman

GuiZhou University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

1 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) pose a substantial threat to humans and ecosystems. How MPs move in soils is controlled by a large number of coupled parameters, including MPs and soil properties as well as hydrological and geochemical conditions. We conduct laboratory experiments where two commonly MPs types found in soils—polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP)—are leached into an idealized soil analog (glass beads). We use time-lapse imaging to analyze the water flow pathways and spectroscopy to measure the MPs transport. We find that MPs impede water infiltration into preferential pathways, with a stronger effect for the more hydrophobic PP, and that PET is more mobile than PP. We explain this by the stronger impedance of PP on water flow that carries the MPs (the driving force), as well as PP surface charge enhancing its adsorption onto soil particles, and its lower density that limits downward transport. These findings advance our understanding the mechanisms underlying MP transport in soils.

Original language	English
Article number	113193
Number of pages	6
Journal	iScience
Volume	28
Issue number	9
Early online date	24 Jul 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113193
Publication status	Published - 19 Sept 2025

Bibliographical note

This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Funding

Q.L. and R.H. acknowledge support from the China Scholarship Council-Coventry University joint research scholarship (CSC no. 202206670004 ). R.H. also acknowledges support from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council ( EP/V050613/1 ), and from the Royal Society (IES\R2\232054). We thank Ali Saeibehrouzi (Coventry University) for performing a zeta potential analysis.

Funders	Funder number
China Scholarship Council	202206670004
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council	EP/V050613/1
The Royal Society	IES\R2\232054

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Pollution
Soil Science
Environmental Science(all)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.isci.2025.113193Licence: CC BY

Bogush2025VoRFinal published version, 5.14 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Microplastic polymer type impacts water infiltration and its own transport in soil",

abstract = "Microplastics (MPs) pose a substantial threat to humans and ecosystems. How MPs move in soils is controlled by a large number of coupled parameters, including MPs and soil properties as well as hydrological and geochemical conditions. We conduct laboratory experiments where two commonly MPs types found in soils—polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP)—are leached into an idealized soil analog (glass beads). We use time-lapse imaging to analyze the water flow pathways and spectroscopy to measure the MPs transport. We find that MPs impede water infiltration into preferential pathways, with a stronger effect for the more hydrophobic PP, and that PET is more mobile than PP. We explain this by the stronger impedance of PP on water flow that carries the MPs (the driving force), as well as PP surface charge enhancing its adsorption onto soil particles, and its lower density that limits downward transport. These findings advance our understanding the mechanisms underlying MP transport in soils.",

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AU - Bogush, Anna

AU - Van De Wiel, Marco

AU - Holtzman, Ran

N1 - This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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AB - Microplastics (MPs) pose a substantial threat to humans and ecosystems. How MPs move in soils is controlled by a large number of coupled parameters, including MPs and soil properties as well as hydrological and geochemical conditions. We conduct laboratory experiments where two commonly MPs types found in soils—polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP)—are leached into an idealized soil analog (glass beads). We use time-lapse imaging to analyze the water flow pathways and spectroscopy to measure the MPs transport. We find that MPs impede water infiltration into preferential pathways, with a stronger effect for the more hydrophobic PP, and that PET is more mobile than PP. We explain this by the stronger impedance of PP on water flow that carries the MPs (the driving force), as well as PP surface charge enhancing its adsorption onto soil particles, and its lower density that limits downward transport. These findings advance our understanding the mechanisms underlying MP transport in soils.

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Microplastic polymer type impacts water infiltration and its own transport in soil

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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