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Bioengineering Solutions for Microplastic Pollution
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This review evaluates bioengineering approaches to remove microplastics from the environment, including using microorganisms, plants, and engineered biological systems to break down or sequester plastic particles. While current biological methods are promising, the review identifies key limitations — including the challenge of targeting very small particles — that must be overcome for practical environmental cleanup.
Microplastic (MP) is an alarming challenge globally to the modern world due to its potential adverse effects on abiotic and biotic components of the ecosystem. Removing larger fractions of plastics from the ecosystem is easier, whereas removing the small-sized MPs is daunting. Current techniques such as filtration or chemical treatment are employed to remove MPs, either retaining MPs or requiring the application of harsh chemicals. Consequently, these treatments are not rendered useful for MP remediation from an environmental perspective. Thus, it becomes quite imperative for biological treatment to be used for MPs’ removal from the environment. This chapter aims to provide details on MPs’ biodegradation and discusses the related mechanism of degradation. Various biological approaches can remove MPs from the environment by biodegradation and bioaccumulation. These approaches include computational biology advances such as bio-augmentation, bio-stimulation, and enzymatic degradation. Recent studies have shown that fungi, bacteria, and algae can be used for MP biodegradation, and enhanced degradation of MPs can be achieved by the application of bioinformatics and gene editing tools. This chapter will provide an overview of recent research and knowledge related to microbial degradation of MPs in the environment, offering insights into the prospective biological solutions for effective MP remediation.
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This review surveys bioremediation technologies, including microbial and plant-based approaches, as potential solutions for removing microplastics from the environment. Researchers highlight promising organisms and enzymatic pathways while noting that practical, scalable applications remain in early development.
Critical review of microplastics removal from the environment
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This review evaluates technologies for removing microplastics from the environment, including physical methods like filtration, chemical treatments, and biological approaches using microorganisms. Each method has trade-offs between effectiveness, cost, and scalability, and no single technology can solve the problem alone. The authors emphasize that reducing human exposure to microplastics requires combining better removal technologies with policies that limit plastic production and waste at the source.
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This review examines biological approaches to removing micro- and nanoplastics from the environment, focusing on microbial degradation and bioremediation strategies. While bioremediation holds promise, challenges remain in identifying microbes capable of degrading common plastic types and scaling these processes for practical environmental cleanup.
Chemical, physical, and biological techniques to remove microplastics
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This review covers the chemical, physical, and biological techniques available for removing microplastics from the environment, comparing their effectiveness and practical limitations. Researchers found that while each approach has strengths, no single method is sufficient for complete removal across different environmental settings. The study suggests that combining multiple techniques offers the most promising path toward effective microplastic remediation.
Microplastics Pollution and its Remediation
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This publication reviews the growing problem of microplastic pollution in the environment and explores biological and technological strategies for remediation, including microbial degradation and engineered solutions. It highlights the urgent need for practical cleanup approaches as microplastics continue to accumulate across ecosystems worldwide.
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