Laboratory data on dynamics of microplastic particles sinking in seawater with dispersed xanthan gum and kappa-carrageenan and rheological properties of these dispersions

TL;DR

This study provides data on how microplastics sink in seawater mixed with polymers, offering insights into their movement and fluid properties.

Contribution

The dataset introduces new measurements on microplastic sinking dynamics and rheological properties in polymer-dispersed seawater.

Findings

Microplastic sinking velocities and orientations were measured using shadowgraph and Particle Tracking Velocimetry.

Rheological properties like shear-dependent viscosity and gelling time were assessed for polymer solutions.

The dataset can be used in fluid mechanics, environmental hydrodynamics, and other engineering fields.

Abstract

This paper presents a dataset comprising measurements of the sinking dynamics of microplastics settling in artificial seawater (AS) and in dispersions of polymers in seawater: xanthan gum, kappa-carrageenan, and their mixtures in two concentrations: 0.5 g/L and 1 g/L. Plastic particles are classified into fifteen groups representing various shapes: disks, rods, blades, spheres, and materials: PS, POM, PET, PA6. The sinking of individual particles in a settling tank was visualized using the shadowgraph method and images were recorded using a camera with macro lenses. Next, Particle Tracking Velocimetry was applied to retrieve the time-resolved position of MPs and their orientation and to calculate instantaneous sinking velocity. Non-Newtonian properties of solutions were measured using a rheometer. Shear-dependent viscosity, shear stress amplitude sweeps, the first normal stress difference, and gelling time were assessed. Datasets may find application in a range of scientific and engineering areas including fluid mechanics, chemical engineering, food engineering, petroleum industry, wastewater treatment, rheology, and environmental hydrodynamics, e.g. in research on particle dynamics in complex fluids, modeling of microplastics fate in aqueous systems, and to develop numerical models on the hydrodynamics of solid particles in complex liquids.

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