Microplastic retention and mobility in unsaturated top soils. The project aims to develop a theory of the retention and migration of micro- and nanoplastics (MP/NP) in unsaturated topsoils and quantif

Description

Microplastic retention and mobility in unsaturated top soils. The project aims to develop a theory of the retention and migration of micro- and nanoplastics (MP/NP) in unsaturated topsoils and quantify fluxes of MP/NP into adjacent water bodies. It expects to generate new knowledge on the interactions between MP/NP and soil’s air-water-solid phases. This will be achieved through an integrated set of experimental and computational investigations at scales from nanometres to metres. Expected outcomes are new knowledge on, and predictive models for, transport of MP/NP with co-contaminants in topsoils. This should provide significant benefits including better protection from plastic waste of human health and ground-, fresh- and marine water, and new technologies for soil remediation. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4005 - Civil Engineering. Lead: Prof Abbas El-Zein