Component-specific effects of black carbon on oxytetracycline adsorption by HDPE microplastics: synergistic and antagonistic interactions and site-energy analysis

Environmental context Microplastics, antibiotics and black carbon can occur together in aquatic environments, but different forms of black carbon may change where antibiotics remain. We found that solid black carbon increased oxytetracycline retention in systems containing polyethylene microplastics, whereas dissolved black carbon decreased it. Distinguishing solid and dissolved black carbon may improve assessments of antibiotic transport and exposure in contaminated waters.