Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Introduction, Past and Present Scenarios of Plastic Degradation

This review traces the history and current state of plastic degradation research, covering how plastics break down in the environment and what technologies exist to accelerate or improve degradation. The persistence of plastic in the environment is what drives the ongoing accumulation of microplastics globally.

2021 Materials research foundations 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Waste: Current Environmental Pollution, Health Hazard and Biodegradation Strategies and Its Management

This review paper surveys the scope of global plastic pollution, covering environmental contamination, health hazards, and biodegradation strategies. The study highlights that with plastic production exceeding 390 million tons by 2021, effective waste management and biodegradation approaches are urgently needed to address microplastic accumulation.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrated approaches for plastic waste management

This review surveys the full spectrum of approaches — recycling, biodegradation by microbes, and chemical or physical treatment — for managing the enormous global volume of plastic waste that otherwise persists in the environment for hundreds of years. The authors argue that no single method is sufficient and that an integrated strategy combining multiple techniques is needed to prevent plastics from fragmenting into environmentally harmful microplastics. The review provides a useful overview for policymakers and researchers looking to reduce plastic pollution at scale.

2024 Frontiers in Microbiology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

On the degradation of (micro)plastics: Degradation methods, influencing factors, environmental impacts

This review provides a comprehensive overview of methods for degrading microplastics, including photodegradation, thermal degradation, and biodegradation, along with the factors that influence each process. Researchers found that while several degradation approaches show promise in laboratory settings, no mature and effective method is yet available for large-scale engineering applications or natural environments. The study also discusses how degradation products of microplastics can themselves pose environmental risks.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 371 citations
Article Tier 2

Current progress on plastic/microplastic degradation: Fact influences and mechanism

This review examined current physicochemical and biological methods for degrading plastics and microplastics, including mechanical, UV, thermal, and microbial approaches. Researchers found that while multiple degradation pathways exist, their efficiency varies widely depending on polymer type and environmental conditions. The study highlights the need for more effective and scalable degradation technologies to address growing plastic pollution.

2022 Environmental Pollution 308 citations
Article Tier 2

A comprehensive review on polymer degradation: Mechanisms, environmental implications, and sustainable mitigation strategies

This comprehensive review examined the different ways plastics break down in the environment, including through heat, sunlight, chemical reactions, and biological processes. Researchers highlighted how polymer degradation leads to microplastic pollution, ecosystem disruption, and potential health risks for both wildlife and humans. The study emphasizes that biodegradable plastics, improved recycling, and better stabilization techniques are needed to manage plastic waste more sustainably.

2025 Communication in Physical Sciences 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Pollution

This book chapter provides a broad overview of plastic pollution, covering the scale of global plastic production, why plastics persist in the environment for centuries, and the various physical and biological approaches being explored to break plastics down. It gives particular attention to microbial degradation as a promising strategy for plastic bioremediation in soil and water environments. The chapter serves as a useful introduction to the plastic pollution problem and the emerging science of using microorganisms to tackle it.

2025 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A comprehensive review on polymer degradation: Mechanisms, environmental implications, and sustainable mitigation strategies

This comprehensive review examined polymer degradation mechanisms including thermal, photo, oxidative, hydrolytic, and biodegradation processes and their environmental implications. The study discussed how these degradation pathways generate microplastic pollution and contribute to ecosystem disruption, while evaluating sustainable mitigation strategies such as biodegradable polymers, advanced recycling, and stabilization techniques.

2025 Communication in Physical Sciences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Waste as a Challenge Cannot Be Ignored: Characteristics, Sources, Impacts, and Unveiling Potential Solutions through Photocatalysis for Environmental Sustainability

This review examines the sources, characteristics, and environmental impacts of plastic waste, including how plastics degrade into micro- and nano-sized particles that spread through air, water, and soil. Researchers highlight photocatalysis as a promising green technology for breaking down plastic waste and potentially converting it into useful products. The study emphasizes that plastic pollution threatens both ecosystems and human health through food chain contamination and direct chemical exposure.

2024 ACS symposium series 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Degradation and Recycling of Polymer Materials

This review synthesizes research on the degradation and recycling of polymer materials, covering microplastic formation, recycling strategies, and plastic degradation mechanisms as responses to the significant environmental damage caused by discarded plastics in ocean and other ecosystems.

2025
Article Tier 2

Driver, Trends and Fate of Plastics and Micro Plastics Occurrence in the Environment

This review examines the sources, trends, and environmental fate of plastics and microplastics, which have become a major global pollution problem due to massive production and poor waste management. Understanding how plastics move through the environment is essential for designing effective pollution controls.

2023
Article Tier 2

Plastic waste management for sustainable environment: techniques and approaches

Researchers reviewed current plastic waste removal techniques — including adsorption, photocatalysis, and microbial degradation — and alternative resource recovery strategies, evaluating their efficiency, underlying mechanisms, and potential for converting plastic waste into adsorbents, fuels, or construction materials.

2023 Waste Disposal & Sustainable Energy 131 citations
Article Tier 2

A Mini Review on Recent Insight into Degradation of Environmental Plastics

This mini-review summarizes current knowledge on how plastics break down in the environment to form microplastics, covering mechanical, photochemical, thermal, and biological degradation pathways, and identifies key gaps in understanding how environmental conditions and plastic properties influence degradation rates.

2023 International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Global challenges in microplastics: From fundamental understanding to advanced degradations toward sustainable strategies

This review examined global challenges in microplastic research — from environmental entry pathways and fate to human health impacts — and discussed potential degradation strategies, concluding that a combination of photocatalysis, biodegradation, and policy measures will be needed for sustainable management.

2020 Chemosphere 101 citations
Article Tier 2

New Progress in Plastic Degradation and Conversion by Photocatalysis

This review examines advances in photocatalytic plastic degradation and conversion, covering both the plastic pollution crisis driven by microplastic formation and innovative recycling approaches including primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary methods.

2024 ACS symposium series
Article Tier 2

Recent advances in research from plastic materials to microplastics

This review traced recent advances in understanding plastic material degradation into microplastics, covering mechanical, photochemical, and biological fragmentation pathways and reviewing current knowledge on environmental fate and biological effects.

2024 Zastita materijala 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradation of Plastic Waste: Environmental Implications and Remediation Approaches

This review examined physical, chemical, and biological degradation mechanisms of microplastics in the environment, including photodegradation, hydrolysis, and microbial breakdown. The authors discussed how degradation generates secondary microplastics and toxic by-products, and reviewed emerging mitigation strategies including advanced oxidation and enzymatic degradation.

2025 International Journal of Scientific Research in Science Engineering and Technology
Article Tier 2

Green Technologies for Plastic Pollutant Waste Management

This review surveys green technologies for managing plastic pollution, covering biological degradation, photocatalysis, and advanced oxidation processes, and assessing their feasibility for large-scale microplastic remediation.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Pervasive Pollution Problems Caused by Plastics and its Degradation

This review discusses the pervasive environmental pollution caused by plastics and their degradation products, arguing that plastic contamination now affects air, water, food, and all living organisms and requires urgent global action to reduce production and improve waste management.

2019 International Journal of Online and Biomedical Engineering (iJOE) 15 citations
Article Tier 2

State of the art in the photochemical degradation of (micro)plastics: from fundamental principles to catalysts and applications

This review summarizes research on the photochemical degradation of plastics and microplastics into value-added products and intermediates via photocatalysis. The study covers fundamental principles and catalytic approaches for breaking down plastic pollutants that are otherwise difficult to degrade in the environment.

2023 Journal of Materials Chemistry A 94 citations
Article Tier 2

The planet in the clutches of plastic garbage: myths, reality, prospects

This review examines the life cycle of polymeric materials to analyze sources and accumulation of plastic waste, discussing the micro- and nanoscale fragmentation problem and arguing that solutions must include ecologically safe technologies for recycling, combustion, and landfill disposal of polymeric waste.

2025 Priroda
Article Tier 2

Plastic Pollution: Challenges and Innovative Solutions

This review examines the multifaceted challenges of plastic pollution and surveys innovative solutions spanning material design, waste management, and remediation technologies. The paper synthesises current research on microplastic sources, environmental persistence, and emerging approaches to reducing plastic releases into ecosystems.

2024 Environments 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Photocatalytic Perception for Degradation of Macro- and Micro-plastics

This review examines photocatalytic approaches for degrading both macro- and micro-plastics, surveying semiconductor-based and other photocatalytic systems capable of breaking down persistent plastic polymers in aquatic and terrestrial environments. The paper evaluates the mechanisms, efficiency, and scalability of photocatalysis as a remediation technology alongside conventional plastic waste management strategies.

2024 ACS symposium series 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Recycling and Management of Microplastic Waste

This review examines recycling and management strategies for plastic waste, describing the technical and economic challenges of reducing plastic pollution and the remediation approaches that have been attempted to address microplastic accumulation in the environment.

2025 ˜The œBioscan.