Microplastic Pollution in the Environment

Microplastic materials have fascinated worldwide devotion as emerging and recent persistent environmental pollutants. These materials were detected in the treated water, surface typical water, groundwater, drinking water, and water and wastewater treatment plants. Microplastic can be categorized into two different forms, primary and secondary, dependent on the materials used. There was a crucial need to evaluate both the chemical and physical properties and the fates of microplastics in treatment plants. This chapter evaluated the performances and impacts of selected operational factors on the performance of treatment techniques such as electrooxidation (EO), ultraviolet irradiation, ozonation, and photooxidation. In this study, over 65 journal articles over a period of 25 years were reviewed and discussed. It was revealed and concluded that the removal of microplastics from the environment depended primarily on their physical properties (size and shape), pH, ageing time, ionic strength, humic acid concentration, temperature, and other environmental factors on the physical appearance of microplastic particles and adsorption of microplastic particles towards tetracycline.