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Microplastic remediation technologies in water and wastewater treatment processes: Current status and future perspectives
Summary
This review covers the main technologies for removing microplastics from water and wastewater, including membrane filtration, chemical coagulation, adsorption, biological methods, and advanced oxidation. Each method has trade-offs between effectiveness, cost, and environmental impact, and no single approach removes all microplastics completely. The review emphasizes the urgent need for better removal methods since microplastics have already been detected in human blood and infant feces.
Microplastics (MPs) are a type of contaminants produced during the use and disposal of plastic products, which are ubiquitous in our lives. With the high specific surface area and strong hydrophobicity, MPs can adsorb various hazardous microorganisms and chemical contaminants from the environment, causing irreversible damage to our humans. It is reported that the MPs have been detected in infant feces and human blood. Therefore, the presence of MPs has posed a significant threat to human health. It is critically essential to develop efficient, scalable and environmentally-friendly methods to remove MPs. Herein, recent advances in the MPs remediation technologies in water and wastewater treatment processes are overviewed. Several approaches, including membrane filtration, adsorption, chemically induced coagulation-flocculation-sedimentation, bioremediation, and advanced oxidation processes are systematically documented. The characteristics, mechanisms, advantages, and disadvantages of these methods are well discussed and highlighted. Finally, the current challenges and future trends of these methods are proposed, with the aim of facilitating the remediation of MPs in water and wastewater treatment processes in a more efficient, scalable, and environmentally-friendly way.