Emerging Applications of Magnetic Nanomaterials in the Remediation of Microplastics from the Aquatic Environment

Microplastics in aquatic environments have been regarded as a threat to biotic or abiotic ecosystems. Risks associated with the bioaccumulation of common organic and inorganic pollutants have emerged as a major ecological issue. The high volume of improper plastic handling in aquatic environments, along with their low environmental degradation, are the main causes of pollution in seawater, freshwater, and potable water. They have even been found in human blood, tissues, and placentas in different forms of toxin, indicating that humans are severely exposed to these micro-pollutants. These are highly toxic with slow degradation efficiency, which is the foremost concern for scientific communities. Their removal for mitigating the harmful effects of microplastic pollutants is the core concern of this chapter. Under various experimental conditions, magnetic nanomaterials have shown great effectiveness in eliminating microplastics from aqueous environments due to their various advantageous aspects, such as structural multi-functionalities, high specific surface-area, high affinity, and high adsorptive and photocatalytic performance. Magnetic nanomaterials-based emerging application strategies, including adsorption, membrane filtration, and photocatalytic elimination of microplastics from the aquatic environment, have been thoroughly summarized. Yet, the research in this field is still in its early stages in many ways and remains a challenging issue. This chapter deals with various application strategies for the removal of microplastics using magnetic nanomaterials from an aqueous environment and their limitations, challenges, and future prospects.