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Wastewater-Derived Microplastics as Carriers of Aromatic Organic Contaminants (AOCs): A Critical Review of Ageing, Sorption Mechanisms, and Environmental Implications
Summary
This review examines how microplastics from wastewater treatment plants act as carriers for aromatic organic contaminants such as PAHs and pesticides. Researchers found that aging and biofilm formation on these microplastics enhance their ability to absorb and transport pollutants through the environment. The study highlights significant gaps in understanding real-world microplastic-contaminant interactions and calls for improved models to assess ecological exposure risks.
Wastewater-derived microplastics (WW-MPs) are increasingly recognised as reactive vectors for aromatic organic contaminants (AOCs), yet their role in contaminant fate remains insufficiently constrained. This review synthesises current knowledge on the transformation of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants, including fragmentation, oxidative ageing, additive leaching, and biofilm formation, and links these processes to changes in sorption capacity toward phenols, PAHs and their derivatives, and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). We summarise the dominant adsorption mechanisms-hydrophobic partitioning, π-π interactions, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic and, in some cases, halogen bonding-and critically evaluate how wastewater-relevant parameters (pH, ionic strength, dissolved organic matter, temperature, and biofilms) can modulate these interactions. Evidence in the literature consistently shows that ageing and biofouling enhance WW-MP affinity for many AOCs, reinforcing their function as mobile carriers. However, major gaps persist, including limited data on real wastewater-aged MPs, lack of methodological standardisation, and incomplete representation of ageing, competitive sorption, and non-equilibrium diffusion in existing isotherm and kinetic models. We propose key descriptors that should be incorporated into future sorption and fate frameworks and discuss how WW-MP-AOC interactions may influence ecological exposure, bioavailability, and risk assessment. This critical analysis supports more realistic predictions of AOC behaviour in wastewater environments.