Settling of microplastics in mucus-rich water column: The role of biologically modified rheology of seawater

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

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.