Surface change of microplastics in aquatic environment and the removal by froth flotation assisted with cationic and anionic surfactants
Abstract
Microplastics (MPs) are increasingly released into the environment due to the widespread usage and improper management of plastics. Considerable research efforts have been devoted to the remediation of MPs. Froth flotation has been demonstrated as an effective method to remove MPs in water and sediment. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the regulation of the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity of MPs surfaces. We found that exposure to the natural environment resulted in the increased hydrophilicity of MPs. The flotation efficiencies of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene glycol terephthalate (PET) MPs decreased to zero after six months of natural incubation in rivers. According to various characterizations, the hydrophilization mechanism is mainly correlated with surface oxidation and the deposition of clay minerals. Inspired by surface wettability conversion, we applied surfactants (collectors) to enhance MPs hydrophobicity and flotation efficiency. Anionic sodium oleate (NaOL) and cationic dodecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DTAC) were used to regulate surface hydrophobicity. The effects of collector concentration, pH, conditioning time, and metal ions on MPs flotation were thoroughly elucidated. Characterizations and adsorption experiments were performed to describe the heterogeneous adsorption of surfactants on MPs surfaces. The interaction between surfactants and MPs was explained through density functional theory (DFT) simulations. The dispersion energy between hydrophobic hydrocarbon chains attracts collectors on the MPs surface, and the collector molecules wrap and laminate to MPs surfaces. Flotation using NaOL exhibited a higher removal efficiency, and NaOL was environmentally friendly. Subsequently, we investigated the activation of Ca 2+, Fe 3+, and Al 3+ to further improve the collecting efficiency of NaOL. Under the optimized conditions, MPs in natural rivers could be removed by froth flotation. This study shows the great promise of froth flotation for the application of MPs removal.
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Jiang, H., Bu, J., Bian, K., Su, J., Wang, Z., Sun, H., Wang, H., Zhang, Y., & Wang, C.
- Affiliations
- Central South University (CN)
- Xinjiang University (CN)
- Zhengzhou University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Wang, Hui
- Zhang, Yingshuang
- Venue
- Water Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2023-04
- Volume
- 233
- Pages
- 119794
- ISSN
- 0043-1354 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4321792273
- Cited by
- 113
- References
- 61
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 28
- FWCI
- 7.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Water Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (21878343)
- Natural Science Foundation of Xinjiang (2022D01C669)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Minerals Flotation and Separation Techniques
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Oil Spill Detection and Mitigation
- Keywords
- microplastics, froth flotation, surface hydrophobicity, hydrophilization, natural weathering, sodium oleate, dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride, surfactant adsorption, surface oxidation, metal ion activation, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, river water remediation, microplastic removal
- MeSH terms
- Microplastics, Plastics, Polystyrenes, Surface-Active Agents, Water, Water Pollutants, Chemical
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