Effects of Particle Properties on the Settling and Rise Velocities of Microplastics in Freshwater under Laboratory Conditions

Kryss Waldschläger*, Holger Schüttrumpf

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

269 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Microplastic (MP) contaminates terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric environments. Although the number of river sampling studies with regard to MP concentrations is increasing, comprehension of the predominant transport processes of MP in the watercourse is still very limited. In order to gain a better process understanding, around 500 physical experiments were conducted to shed more light on the effects of particle shape, size and density on the rise and settling velocities of MP. The determined velocities ranged between 0.39 cm/s for polyamide fibers (settling) and 31.4 cm/s for expanded polystyrene pellets (rise). Subsequently, the determined velocities were compared with formulas from sediment transport and, as there were large differences between theoretically and experimentally determined velocities, own formulas were developed to describe settling and rise velocities of MP particles with a large variety of shapes, sizes and densities. This study shows that MP differs significantly from sediment in its behavior and that a transfer of common sediment transport formulas should be treated with caution. Furthermore, the established formulas can now be used in numerical simulations to describe the settling and rising of MP more precisely.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1958-1966
Number of pages9
JournalEnvironmental Science and Technology
Volume53
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Feb 2019
Externally publishedYes

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