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Sustainable Algal Nanomaterials for Microplastics and Lanthanide Remediation
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Scientists are exploring how algae can be used to create tiny, eco-friendly particles (called nanoparticles) that soak up pollutants like microplastics and certain metals from water and soil. This review paper summarizes existing research on how these algae-based particles are made and how well they clean up environmental contaminants, offering a greener alternative to chemical-based cleanup methods. Since microplastics and heavy metals can end up in our food and water, finding sustainable ways to remove them could help reduce our long-term exposure to these harmful substances.
Nanotechnology with unique properties and versatile applications highlights the considerable potential in detecting, removing, and degrading pollutants such as lanthanides, organic compounds, and microplastics. Particles with sizes from 1 to 100 nm are called nanoparticles. In this context, bionanomaterials have emerged as a potential technique for the green remediation of microplastics (MPs) due to their property of biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low ecological footprint. Bionanomaterials have their origin from biological sources or are engineered to resemble biological systems at various nanoscale. Different biological sources, like plants, algae, and other microorganisms, generate these particles. Green synthesis has emerged as a promising tool for the development of a variety of nanoparticles. The ability of algae to adsorb metals and metal oxides on their surface makes them a potential tool for the biosynthesis of nanoparticles. Algae-based nanoparticles act as pollutant-reducing devices that help to efficiently target pollutants for nanobioremediation. This enhances the cleaning of the environment from potentially toxic substances like microplastics and heavy metals, including lanthanides. This chapter gives insights into methods of synthesising algae-based nanomaterials and their utilisation in remediating microplastics and heavy metals, including lanthanides.
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Nano Green Chemistry for Sustainable Environmental Remediation: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives
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Scientists are using natural ingredients like plant extracts, algae, and fungi to create tiny, eco-friendly particles (nanoparticles) that can clean up pollution more safely than traditional chemical methods. This review paper summarizes existing research showing these "green" nanomaterials can help remove harmful substances like heavy metals, pesticides, drug residues, microplastics, and disease-causing germs from water, soil, and air. This matters because it points toward cleanup technologies that reduce our exposure to contaminants without introducing new toxic chemicals into the environment in the process.
Microalgal Bioremediation of Microplastics: Current Advances, Challenges and Environmental Applications
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Tiny plastic particles called microplastics are everywhere in our water and food, and they're small enough to slip into our cells and tissues, raising health concerns. This review paper looks at how microscopic algae might help clean up the problem—by trapping plastic particles, sticking to them and sinking them out of the water, or even breaking them down using natural enzymes. While this is still an emerging area of research rather than a ready-to-use solution, it points to a promising, eco-friendly way to reduce the amount of plastic pollution that ends up in our water, food, and ultimately our bodies.
Microalgae-Based Bioremediation of Microplastic-Contaminated Industrial Wastewater: Mechanisms and Challenges
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Tiny plastic particles that pollute factory wastewater can eventually make their way into our water supply, rivers, and food chain. This review paper pulls together existing research showing that certain algae can trap, absorb, or even partially break down these microplastics, offering a cheaper, greener cleanup method than current chemical treatments, plus the leftover algae could be reused as fuel or fertilizer instead of going to waste.
Are algae a promising ecofriendly approach to micro/nanoplastic remediation?
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This review examines the potential of algae as an eco-friendly approach to removing micro- and nanoplastics from wastewater treatment plant effluents, covering mechanisms including interception, entanglement, and heteroaggregation. Algae also offer the added benefit of nutrient recovery from wastewater and can be further processed into biochar or biofertilizer.
Emerging persistent micro- and nanopollutants in marine ecosystems: sources, risks on seafood security, and current remediation technology
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Our oceans are increasingly polluted with tiny, hard-to-remove particles—heavy metals, engineered nanomaterials, and micro/nanoplastics—that build up in fish and shellfish and can even carry other toxic chemicals along with them into the seafood we eat. This review pulls together existing research on where these pollutants come from and how they threaten seafood safety, while highlighting promising cleanup methods like advanced filters and pollutant-absorbing materials, as well as natural solutions using marine algae and bacteria. The takeaway: protecting seafood safety will likely require combining multiple cleanup str
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