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Updated: Aug 19, 2025
Forming Micro-and Nano-Plastics from Agricultural Plastic Films for Employment in Fundamental Research Studies
Published on: July 27, 2022
Surface characteristics of polystyrene microplastics mainly determine their coagulation performances
Jingjing Yao1, Zhaoxia Peng2, Weifeng Chen2
1Center for Environment and Water Resources, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, PR China; Key Laboratory of Hunan Province for Water Environment and Agriculture Product Safety, Changsha 410083, PR China; Pillar of Engineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, 487372, Singapore.
Abstract:
In this study, polyaluminum sulfate (PAS) coagulant was selected to evaluate the coagulation performance of polystyrene microplastics. Overall, polystyrene removal efficiency was 90.4 % at the optimal dosage of 7.5 g/L of PAS. In addition to the type of coagulants (e.g. polyaluminum chloride, iron(III) chloride, and polyferric sulfate), surface characteristics such as densities, particle sizes, morphologies, adsorbed substances, and functional groups can also significantly impact the coagulation performance. The coagulation ratios are reduced to (2.6 ± 0.1)% when the densities of microplastics decrease. Aging treatments involving NaOH, H2SO4, NaClO, CH3OH, and O3 promoted coagulation, whereas UV and Na2S2O3 treatments inhibited (64.1 ± 9.7)% and (79.3 ± 8.0)% of polystyrene removals, respectively. In contrast, Fe(NO3)3 treatment did not affect the removal ratio. Further characterization of polystyrene before and after coagulation exemplified that the functional groups (CO, CO, and CH) and the rough surfaces of PAS provided adsorption and interception sites for hydrolysis products of the PAS.
