Citation:

Kundu, A., N. Shetti, S. Basu, K. Raghava Reddy, M. Nadagouda, AND T. Aminabhavi. Identification and removal of micro- and nano-plastics: Efficient and cost-effective methods. Chemical Engineering Journal. Elsevier BV, AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, 421, Part 1:129816, (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2021.129816

Impact/Purpose:

The present review is aimed to summarize various sampling methods and studies used in the mitigation and further characterization of MPs and NPs. The review also provides an overview of the hazardous effects caused by plastics as emerging pollutants. WWTP, and the water industries are currently not effective technologies to distinguish the MPs from the waste sources. To remove MPs and NPs from wastewater, advanced membrane processes need to be fully utilized of these environmentally benign methods, ultrafiltration, dynamic membrane technology, reverse osmosis, membrane disc filters, and membrane bioreactors seem to be promising approaches. MBR can also be a promising method among these processes with 99% removal of MPs. Techniques, including field flow fractionation, have been discussed for the removal of NPs. In addition to the strategy to reduce plastic usage and to identify alternative material sources, a better understanding of MPs and NPs elimination technologies is crucial. Future studies on the mitigation of MPs and NPs need to prioritize better and more innovative sampling methods. A more elaborated and detailed sequence of methods for chemical-physical characterization and identification of MPs and NPs is the need of the day. Finally, risk assessment and awareness among the public and design of the operation and production-based processes on the usage of biodegradable plastics materials is necessary to mitigate these toxic pollutants to provide a green environment.

Description:

Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) have gained much attention in recent times because of their ubiquitous presence, which is widely acknowledged as a threat to the environment. MPs can be of less than 5 mm size, while NPs are less than 100 nm, and all of these can be detected in various forms and shapes in the environment to alleviate their harmful effects on aquatic species, soil organisms, birds, and humans. In efforts to address these issues, the present review discusses about the sampling methods for water, sediments, and biota along with their merits and demerits. Various identification techniques such as FTIR, Raman, ToF-SIMS, MALDI TOF MS, and ICP-MS are critically discussed. The detrimental effects caused by MPs and NPs are discussed critically as well as efficient and cost-effective treatment processes including membrane technologies aimed to remove the plastics particles from various sources in order to mitigate their environmental pollution effects and risk assessment.

URLs/Downloads:

Record Details: