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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Separation and Identification of Conventional Microplastics from Farmland Soils
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Separation and Identification of Conventional Microplastics from Farmland Soils

Published on: March 21, 2025

Microplastics transport in subsurface environments: Mechanisms and multi-scale modeling.

Fangfei Cai1, Funing Ma2, Xiyan Zhang1

  • 1School of Architecture and Engineering, Qingdao Binhai University, Qingdao 266555, China.

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
|June 10, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Microplastics (MPs) are persistent soil and groundwater contaminants. This review models their complex transport, highlighting gaps and proposing a framework for better risk assessment.

Keywords:
Groundwater contaminationMicroplasticsMulti-scale numerical modelingSubsurface porous mediaVadose zone transport

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Last Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Separation and Identification of Conventional Microplastics from Farmland Soils
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Published on: March 21, 2025

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08:27

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Published on: November 7, 2025

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10:16

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Geosciences
  • Chemical Engineering

Background:

  • Microplastics (MPs) are pervasive soil and groundwater contaminants, acting as pollutants and co-contaminant vectors.
  • While MP occurrence is documented, mechanistic transport models for subsurface environments are limited.
  • Existing reviews focus on occurrence, not modeling approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To adopt a model-oriented perspective on microplastic transport in subsurface environments.
  • To examine how MP source characteristics, particle properties, and transport mechanisms can be represented across scales.
  • To synthesize advances in MP modeling and identify knowledge gaps.

Main Methods:

  • Reviewing source/occurrence patterns for model boundary conditions.
  • Synthesizing physical, geochemical, and biological transport processes.
  • Examining numerical modeling approaches (continuum, vadose-zone, pore-scale).

Main Results:

  • MPs exhibit non-Fickian transport due to unique properties (size, morphology, density, deformability, aging).
  • Advanced models incorporate particle-specific retention, interfacial processes, and multi-scale parameterization.
  • Pore-scale simulations offer mechanistic insights into particle-pore interactions.

Conclusions:

  • Major gaps exist in modeling unsaturated flow, bio-mediated transport, and field-scale parameterization.
  • A multi-scale modeling framework linking sources, processes, experiments, and data is proposed.
  • Improved modeling is crucial for predicting MP contamination and assessing risks in subsurface environments.