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Recent trends in degradation of microplastics in the environment: A state-of-the-art review

Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 2023 182 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 70 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Pankaj R. Sutkar, Rajesh D. Gadewar, Vinayak P. Dhulap

Summary

This review examines different methods for breaking down microplastics in the environment, including biological approaches using microorganisms and chemical techniques like advanced oxidation. Each method has trade-offs in effectiveness and scalability, and better standardized testing is needed to move these solutions from the lab to real-world cleanup of microplastic pollution that threatens ecosystems and human health.

Microplastics (MPs) have become a global environmental concern due to their considerable harm to the environment and humans. However, only a few researches have been published on the total removal of MPs from the environment. Traditional treatment procedures were unsuitable for MPs due to secondary pollutant development and toxicity concerns. As a result, several strategies for treating MPs have been investigated in recent years. This review covered recently developed MPs degradation strategies, such as abiotic and biotic, as well as the relevant degradation mechanisms and the present state of advancement. Every method has its own set of limits, advantages, and disadvantages. As a result, each technique's strengths and constraints have been thoroughly examined. Some recommendations for potential research directions have been provided based on the gaps in information in the analyzed 109 published research publications, such as the lack of standardized methodologies for evaluating and quantifying the degradation process, degradation pathway analysis, and field application. This review's goal is to give an in-depth account of the different MPs' disintegration processes, along with a summary of each one's advantages and disadvantages and limitations.

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