Institute of Geo-Hydroinformatics, Hamburg University of Technology, Am Schwarzenberg-Campus 3 (E), 21073 Hamburg, Germany; Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Institute of Geo-Hydroinformatics, Hamburg University of Technology, Am Schwarzenberg-Campus 3 (E), 21073 Hamburg, Germany.
Chemosphere. 2023 Jan;311(Pt 1):137023. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137023. Epub 2022 Oct 28.
Microplastics (MPs) pollution is an emerging threat to soil ecosystems. The present study aims to investigate the impacts of MPs on soil water evaporation dynamics and patterns. Two series of laboratory experiments were conducted using sand particles and clay mixed with different MPs to investigate how evaporation dynamics and patterns are influenced by the presence of MPs. Quartz sand including 0, 0.75, 1.5, and 4.5% of Polyethylene (PE) and Polyvinylchloride (PVC) were used to evaluate MPs effects on evaporation rates while bentonite mixed with sand and 0, 0.75, 1.5, 4.5, 6, 8, and 10% of PE and PVC were used to investigate evaporation-induced cracking patterns. The experiments were conducted under controlled laboratory conditions in a climate chamber at constant ambient temperature. Our results suggest that the addition of MPs led to more water evaporation compared to the samples without MPs. Microscopic imaging and analysis enabled us to evaluate the possible MPs effects on the modification of soil characteristics and pore structure affecting the evaporation behavior. Moreover, although increasing MPs concentrations appeared to induce only minor effects on the crack morphology formed as a result of evaporation from the mixture of sand and bentonite, the type of MPs (PE vs PVC) had more notable effects on the drying-induced cracking patterns. The reported experimental data and analysis extend our physical understanding of the parameters influencing soil water evaporation in the presence of MPs.
微塑料（MPs）污染对土壤生态系统构成了新兴威胁。本研究旨在探讨 MPs 对土壤水分蒸发动态和模式的影响。通过使用含有不同 MPs 的沙粒和粘土进行了两组实验室实验，以研究 MPs 的存在如何影响蒸发动态和模式。使用包含 0、0.75、1.5 和 4.5%聚乙烯（PE）和聚氯乙烯（PVC）的石英砂来评估 MPs 对蒸发速率的影响，而膨润土与沙混合，并添加 0、0.75、1.5、4.5、6、8 和 10%的 PE 和 PVC，以研究蒸发诱导的裂缝模式。实验在气候室内的恒定环境温度下进行，以控制实验室条件。我们的研究结果表明，与不含 MPs 的样品相比，添加 MPs 导致更多的水蒸发。微观成像和分析使我们能够评估 MPs 对土壤特性和孔隙结构的可能影响，这些特性和结构会影响蒸发行为。此外，尽管增加 MPs 浓度似乎对沙和膨润土混合物蒸发形成的裂缝形态的影响很小，但 MPs 的类型（PE 与 PVC）对干燥诱导的裂缝模式有更显著的影响。报告的实验数据和分析扩展了我们对存在 MPs 时土壤水分蒸发影响因素的物理理解。
