Engineering Commons^™

Analysis Of Physicochemical Properties And Terrestrial Dynamics Of Mechanically Formed Micro-Nano Scaled Particles From Agricultural Plastic Mulches, Anton Friedrich Astner

Doctoral Dissertations

Release of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) into agricultural fields is of great concern due to their reported ecotoxicity to organisms that provide beneficial service to the soil such as earthworms, and the potential ability of MPs and NPs to enter the food chain. Most fundamental studies of the fate and transport of plastic particulates in terrestrial environments employ idealized MP materials as models, such as monodisperse polystyrene spheres. In contrast, plastics that reside in agricultural soils consist of polydisperse fragments resulting from degraded films employed in agriculture. There exists a need for more representative materials in fundamental studies of …