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Microplastics in aquatic environment: fate, human exposure, removal and advances of nanotechnology in remediation
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This review traces microplastic pathways from aquatic sources — including seafood, drinking water, and sea salt — through the human food chain, estimating up to 26,250 microplastic particles ingested per person annually from seafood alone, while also cataloging the toxic additives and co-transported heavy metals these particles carry. It evaluates physical, chemical, and biological removal methods before identifying nanotechnology-based approaches as the most promising next generation of water treatment for microplastic elimination.
Currently, the presence of microplastics in water bodies is a global concern. Microplastics are released from industries and wastewater treatment plants, and they enter the aquatic food chains. Microplastics enter the human body via several different routes from the aquatic environment, such as ingestion of seafood, drinking water, and sea salt. Due to the consumption of seafood, 375–26,250 microplastic particles per capita may be ingested into the human body. These microplastics transport several contaminants, such as toxic trace metals and other organic pollutants, as well as release toxic additives into the food chain, which leads to severe health risks to humans, including respiratory disorders, neurological symptoms, inflammation of the intestine, gut toxicity, carcinogenic and mutagenic effects. Therefore, the removal of microplastics from aquatic environments is important. Several studies have been conducted to eliminate microplastics from aquatic environments to reduce the microplastics entering the food chain, such as physical, chemical, and biological methods. However, each technique has several challenges during the removal of microplastics. Therefore, the emergence of nanotechnology-based applications promises the efficient removal of microplastics from aquatic environments. This review provides an overview of sources and occurrence of microplastics in aquatic environments, their pathways from the aquatic environment to the food chain and the toxic effects on human health. It also describes the removal techniques of microplastics from the aquatic environment and the emergence of nanotechnology in the microplastics removal methods. Finally, the future scope of nanotechnology in microplastic removal was identified.
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Researchers reviewed the sources, global distribution, and ecological impacts of microplastics, documenting their presence in drinking water, air, marine and freshwater environments, biota, and table salt, and assessing the associated risks to environmental and human health.
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