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Adsorption of PAHs and PCDD/Fs in Microplastics: A Review
Summary
This review examines the adsorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs) onto microplastics, highlighting how microplastics can act as vectors transporting these toxic compounds through aquatic environments and into organisms that ingest them.
The presence of microplastics (MPs) in the environment, and the effects that the ingestion of these materials can have on organisms, can be aggravated by the adsorption of harmful substances on the surface or inside the MPs. Of special relevance are the studies that have been carried out on the adsorption and transport of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as well as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs). This review will delve into the research carried out to date regarding the adsorption by conventional and biodegradable MPs of dangerous organic compounds such as those mentioned. In general, the presence of MPs is considered a vector for the entry of these contaminants into living beings, since their capacity to adsorb contaminants is very high and they are ingested by different organisms that introduce these contaminants into the trophic chain.
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