Environmental Effects on the Fate and Co-Transport of Pesticides and Microplastics in Soils Irrigated with Wastewater

In this paper we report results from a series of kinetics and isotherms experiments under different conditions (salinity, organic carbon, and temperature) that were conducted in order to determine the equilibrium time and the sorption response of typical biodegradable microplastics in comparison to non-degradable microplastics to three common pesticides present in wastewater. Moreover, we investigated the molecular mechanisms involved in this sorption via characterization using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Finally, we also present results from soil column experiments designed to facilitate understanding the key and fundamental processes of MPs transport in saturated soil influenced by aging and sorption under various scenarios.