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Remediation of Soil Contaminated with Microplastics: Strategies and Practical Implications
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Microplastics in soil are a growing concern since they can end up in the food we grow and eventually in our bodies, so scientists are testing ways to clean them out of dirt. This review of existing research finds that fast chemical and heat-based treatments can remove nearly all microplastics but use a lot of energy, while slower, gentler methods like using special charcoal (biochar) or soil microbes are more practical for widespread use and also improve soil health and crop growth. The most promising approach combines these methods, though more research is still needed to confirm how well they actually break down the plastic rather than just filtering it out.
Microplastic contamination in soils is an emerging environmental challenge requiring effective and scalable remediation strategies. This review synthesizes advances in physical, chemical, biological, and hybrid approaches, focusing on mechanisms, performance, and practical applicability. Physical methods, particularly adsorption using biochar, achieve removal efficiencies exceeding 86% for 1 μm polystyrene microplastics and maintain > 85% efficiency after multiple reuse cycles, demonstrating strong durability. Filtration and aggregation systems, such as permeable reactive barriers, reach up to 81.55% removal but are less effective in co-contaminated conditions. Chemical strategies exhibit the highest efficiencies. Dielectric barrier discharge plasma achieves 96.5–98.7% degradation within 30–60 min, while electrochemical coagulation reaches ~98% removal via flocculation. Thermal treatments, including pyrolysis, enable near-complete microplastic removal (~100%) at ≥400 °C, although high energy demands limit in situ application. Chemical amendments also improve soil quality, increasing organic matter by ~7.35% and enhancing nutrient availability. Biological approaches offer sustainable but slower remediation. Microbial degradation achieves up to ~60% breakdown within 21 days, while enzyme–microbe systems reach ~21.4% over 60 days. Earthworm activity enhances fragmentation and nutrient cycling (up to 36.1%), whereas phytoremediation alone shows minimal direct degradation (<1% over 12 months). Hybrid strategies, particularly biochar-based systems, provide the most practical solutions by combining adsorption, microbial stimulation, and soil restoration, but their effectiveness in degrading microplastics needs further verification. These systems enhance microbial biomass (up to 57.67%), nutrient availability (up to 66.02%), and crop yield (up to 81.41%). Overall, physicochemical methods ensure rapid removal (>90%), biological approaches support long-term degradation, and hybrid systems offer scalable, sustainable remediation for field applications.
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Role of Biochar and Microbes in Remediation of Microplastics in Soil
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This review examines how biochar and soil microbes can be combined to remediate microplastic-contaminated soils, synthesizing evidence for biochar's adsorption capacity and microbial degradation pathways that reduce microplastic persistence and toxicity.
Addressing the Microplastic Dilemma in Soil and Sediment with Focus on Biochar-Based Remediation Techniques: Review
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This review examines how biochar, a carbon-rich material made from organic waste, can be used to remediate microplastic-contaminated soils and sediments. Researchers found that biochar can adsorb microplastics and reduce their mobility, while also improving overall soil health and microbial activity. The study highlights biochar-based approaches as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly strategy for addressing microplastic pollution in terrestrial environments.
Applications of biochar in the remediation of soil microplastic pollution: A review
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Researchers reviewed the use of biochar as a tool for remediating microplastic-contaminated soil. The study found that biochar application shows promise for addressing soil microplastic pollution by altering soil properties in ways that can reduce microplastic mobility and mitigate their negative effects on soil structure, plant growth, and biogeochemical cycling.
The Removal and Mitigation Effects of Biochar on Microplastics in Water and Soils: Application and Mechanism Analysis
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This review examines how biochar can be used to both remove microplastics from water and mitigate their harmful effects in soils. Researchers found that woody biochar was the most effective type for adsorbing microplastics, while also helping to restore soil enzyme activities and microbial communities disrupted by plastic contamination. The study calls for further research into optimizing biochar applications and understanding the long-term environmental implications of biochar-microplastic interactions.
Efficient degradation of polystyrene microplastic pollutants in soil by dielectric barrier discharge plasma
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Researchers used a plasma-based technique called dielectric barrier discharge to break down polystyrene microplastics in soil and achieved a degradation rate of nearly 99 percent within one hour. The process works by generating reactive oxygen species that chemically decompose the plastic, converting most of it into carbon dioxide. The study presents this technology as a fast and energy-efficient approach for treating microplastic-contaminated soil.
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