Emergence of Microplastics in the Aquatic Ecosystems: Sources and Their Characteristics

Andrés H. Arias; A. Belén Villafañe; Guillermo A. Mora; Adriana Edith Larrea Valdivia; Guilherme Malafaia

doi:10.1007/698_2025_1222

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Emergence of Microplastics in the Aquatic Ecosystems: Sources and Their Characteristics

The handbook of environmental chemistry 2025

Andrés H. Arias, A. Belén Villafañe, Guillermo A. Mora, Adriana Edith Larrea Valdivia, Guilherme Malafaia

Summary

Researchers reviewed the sources, physical and chemical characteristics, and environmental distribution of microplastics in aquatic ecosystems, covering both primary particles from industrial and personal care products and secondary particles generated through fragmentation of larger plastics. Understanding the diversity of particle sources and properties is foundational for modeling exposure pathways and predicting which ecosystems and human populations face the greatest contamination risk.

The increasing demand for petroleum-based resins has led to a significant rise in plastic production, reaching approximately 368 million tons in 2019. Despite the expected tripling of production by 2059, the environmental impact of plastics is alarming, particularly...

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