Solution-based study of the clay-surfactant-microplastic interactions

Since the end of the 20th century, plastic pollution has reached even the most remote locations of our planet; today, plastics litter can be found in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Consequently, plenty of efforts has focused on this problem making it a hot topic of research, particularly plastic found in the hydrosphere. Regarding the lithosphere, the fate of microplastics - plastic pieces of less than 5 mm- in soil has recently gotten more deserved attention; nonetheless and to the best of our knowledge, less efforts have pursued the interactions between clay particles -a main component of soil- and microplastics. In this poster, we present a systematic analysis of such interactions using analytical techniques such as dynamic light scattering, solution conductivity and pH.