Current Study Status and Development Prospects of Microplastics in Environmental Protection – a Brief Review

Microplastics (MPs) is a typical global environmental pollutant; its complex environmental behavior and potential risks are causing severe harm to human beings, animals and ecosystems. The comprehensive understanding of MPs is critical for the prevention and control of MPs pollution in the production and usage of MPs. This review introduces the types and sources of MPs, elaborates their transport and fate governed by both anthropogenic activities and natural processes in ocean, terrestrial, and atmospheric environments, and systematically evaluates their toxicological effects on organs and physiological systems. Furthermore, this review summaries the detection methods of MPs, i.e., visual inspection, spectral analysis and thermal analysis, and highlights the trade-offs between accuracy, efficiency, and sample integrity. In terms of removal of MPs, this review assesses the efficacy and limitations of biological degradation, advanced oxidation, flocculation and sedimentation, and adsorption. Finally, this review proposes seven critical research directions of MPs in the near future.