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Systematic Review of Degradation Processes for Microplastics: Progress and Prospects
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This systematic review summarizes existing research on different methods for breaking down microplastics, including photodegradation, chemical oxidation, and biological approaches. The study evaluates how effective each technique is at destroying microplastics and discusses which methods show the most promise for real-world application. Finding effective ways to degrade microplastics is critical because these particles persist in the environment for hundreds of years and continue to enter our food and water.
Microplastics (MPs) have been shown to be more hazardous than large plastics. In recent years, many studies have confirmed the hazards of MPs to organisms and summarized various MP degradation techniques, but there is a lack of discussion on the prospects of the application of these degradation techniques and their degradation efficiency. Therefore, this paper reviewed the degradation techniques of MPs, such as adsorption, direct photodegradation, photocatalytic oxidation, electrochemical oxidation, and biological methods, and their application prospects. By focusing on the biodegradation mechanism and degradation efficiency, the potential for efficient and sustainable development of biodegradation processes and the prospect of large-scale application are highlighted, enabling readers to better understand the current status of research on MP biodegradation. This review provides direction for research on MP degradation, suggestions for governmental environmental governance and policy development, and references for the sustainability and large-scale application of MP biodegradation.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.