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Recent advancements in the field of functional adsorbents for use in removing microplastics
Summary
This review surveys functional adsorbents—including porous carbon materials, organic-inorganic hybrids, and metal oxides—for removing microplastics from wastewater, emphasizing affordability, reusability, and capture efficiency as key advantages. Effective wastewater treatment is a critical control point for preventing microplastics from reaching drinking water, aquatic ecosystems, and ultimately the food chain and human tissues.
Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, which pollute marine and freshwater ecosystems, and adsorption is a well-known method for removing microplastics from wastewater. Removing microplastics from wastewater via adsorption is of interest because of its affordable cost and ease of use and the high levels of reusability of the adsorbents. In this review, we analyze the various structures and chemical compositions of the adsorbents developed thus far for removing microplastics. Functional adsorbents, such as porous carbon-based and organic–inorganic hybrid materials and metal oxides/hydroxides, have been investigated for use in effectively capturing microplastics in water systems. This review summarizes the recent progress in the field of functional adsorbents for application in removing microplastics from wastewater. Studying the physicochemical properties of different adsorbents and their adsorption capacities for microplastics should be helpful in understanding and designing adsorbents with improved performances.