Submicron Plastic Adsorption by Peat, Accumulation in Sphagnum Mosses and Influence on Bacterial Communities in Peatland Ecosystems.

The smallest fraction of plastic pollution, submicron plastics (SMPs <1 µm) are expected to be ubiquitous in the environment. No information is available about SMPs in peatlands, which have a key role in sequestering carbon in terrestrial ecosystems. It is unknown how these plastic particles might behave and interact with (micro)organisms in these ecosystems. Here, we show that the chemical composition of polystyrene (PS) and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)-SMPs influenced their adsorption to peat. Consequently, this influenced the accumualtion of SMPs by Sphagnum moss and the composition and diversity of the microbial communities in peatland. Natural organic matter (NOM), which adsorbs from the surrounding water to the surface of SMPs, decreased the adsorption of the particles to peat and their accumulation by Sphagnum moss. However, the presence of NOM on SMPs significantly altered the bacterial community structure compared to SMPs without NOM. Our findings show that peatland ecosystems can potentially adsorb plastic particles. This can not only impact mosses themselves but also change the local microbial communities.

Deposition of latex colloids at rough mineral surfaces: an analogue study using nanopatterned surfaces.

Deposition of latex colloids on a structured silicon surface was investigated. The surface with well-defined roughness and topography pattern served as an analogue for rough mineral surfaces with half-pores in the submicrometer size. The silicon topography consists of a regular pit pattern (pit diameter = 400 nm, pit spacing = 400 nm, pit depth = 100 nm). Effects of hydrodynamics and colloidal interactions in transport and deposition dynamics of a colloidal suspension were investigated in a parallel plate flow chamber. The experiments were conducted at pH ∼ 5.5 under both favorable and unfavorable adsorption conditions using carboxylate functionalized colloids to study the impact of surface topography on particle retention. Vertical scanning interferometry (VSI) was applied for both surface topography characterization and the quantification of colloidal retention over large fields of view. The influence of particle diameter variation (d = 0.3-2 µm) on retention of monodisperse as well as polydisperse suspensions was studied as a function of flow velocity. Despite electrostatically unfavorable conditions, at all flow velocities, an increased retention of colloids was observed at the rough surface compared to a smooth surface without surface pattern. The impact of surface roughness on retention was found to be more significant for smaller colloids (d = 0.3, 0.43 vs. 1, 2 µm). From smooth to rough surfaces, the deposition rate of 0.3 and 0.43 µm colloids increased by a factor of ∼2.7 compared to a factor of 1.2 or 1.8 for 1 and 2 µm colloids, respectively. For a substrate herein, with constant surface topography, the ratio between substrate roughness and radius of colloid, Rq/rc, determined the deposition efficiency. As Rq/rc increased, particle-substrate overall DLVO interaction energy decreased. Larger colloids (1 and 2 µm) beyond a critical velocity (7 × 10(-5) and 3 × 10(-6) m/s) (when drag force exceeds adhesion force) tend to detach from the surface irrespective of the impact of roughness. For polydisperse solutions, an increase in the polydispersity and flow velocity resulted in a reduction of colloid deposition efficiency due to the resulting enhanced double-layer repulsion. Quantification of surface topography variations of two endmembers of natural grain surfaces showed that half-pore depths and roughness of sedimentary quartz grains are mainly in the micrometer range. Grains with diagenetically formed quartz overgrowths, however, show surface roughness mainly in the submicrometer range. Thus, surface topography features applied in the here presented analogue study and resulting variation in particle retention can serve as quantitative analogue for particle reactions in diagenetically altered quartz sands and sandstones. The reported impact of particle polydispersity can have an important application for quantitative prediction of retention of varying types of minerals, such as different clay minerals in the environment under prevailing unfavorable conditions.