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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Author comment: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R0/PR1
ClearReview: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R0/PR2
This paper asks whether superabsorbent polymers used in agriculture and personal care products could be the next microplastic concern. Like conventional microplastics, synthetic superabsorbent polymers can persist in soils, affect plant and soil organism health, and may need regulatory attention.
Review: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R0/PR3
This peer review evaluates a paper on whether superabsorbent polymers in soil should be considered a new form of microplastics. The review contributes to the scientific discourse on defining and understanding emerging polymer pollutants in agricultural environments.
Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics?
This review examines whether superabsorbent polymers used in agriculture, personal care products, and construction could become a new form of microplastic pollution in soil. Researchers found that weathering may transform these polymers into solid plastic-like residues over time, though the specific conditions driving this transformation are not yet well understood. The study suggests more research is needed to determine the long-term environmental fate of these widely used materials.
Recommendation: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R0/PR4
This peer review recommendation evaluates a study on whether superabsorbent polymers in agricultural soil constitute a new category of microplastics. The review process reflects ongoing scientific debate about how to classify and regulate these widely used synthetic polymer materials.
Author comment: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R1/PR6
This peer review comment examines whether superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) like polyacrylates and polyacrylamides — widely used in agriculture and hygiene products — should be classified as a new category of microplastics given their uncertain environmental fate. The debate highlights significant gaps in understanding how these synthetic polymers break down and accumulate in soil.
Decision: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R0/PR5
This peer review decision evaluates a study asking whether superabsorbent polymers in soil should be classified as a new form of microplastics, given their widespread agricultural use and poorly understood environmental behavior. The review highlights scientific uncertainty around the fate and risks of these synthetic polymer materials.
Recommendation: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R1/PR7
Researchers examined whether superabsorbent polymers including polyacrylates and polyacrylamides, widely used in agriculture and personal care products, should be classified as a new category of microplastics given that soil weathering may fundamentally alter their chemical properties and environmental behavior.
Superabsorbent Polymers: From long-established, microplastics generating systems, to sustainable, biodegradable and future proof alternatives
This review examined how conventional acrylate-based superabsorbent polymers generate microplastics due to their non-biodegradable nature, and assessed emerging biodegradable alternatives that could provide sustainable, future-proof replacements for hygiene and agricultural applications.
Decision: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R1/PR8
Researchers examined superabsorbent polymers such as polyacrylates and polyacrylamides as a potentially overlooked class of soil plastic pollutants, investigating how weathering in soil changes their intended properties and whether they should be considered a new category of microplastics.
Superabsorbent Hydrogels in the Agriculture and Reclamation of Degraded Areas
This review examines superabsorbent hydrogels, polymer materials that can absorb hundreds of times their weight in water, and their use in agriculture and land restoration. Researchers found that while these materials can significantly improve soil water retention and crop yields, concerns remain about chemical leaching and potential microplastic generation as they degrade. The study suggests that more research is needed on the long-term environmental safety of synthetic hydrogels in soil.
Unveiling the potency of polymers and their environmental implications: an agricultural perspective
Researchers reviewed the expanding use of synthetic polymers in agriculture — including water-retaining superabsorbent polymers and slow-release coatings — and found that while they boost crop yields and conserve water, they also contribute to soil microplastic pollution over time. The review calls for more research into biodegradable alternatives to reduce the long-term environmental burden of plastic-based farming inputs.
Polymeric Hydrogels in Agriculture: Environmental Performance, Sustainability Challenges, and Future Perspectives
A review assessed the environmental performance and degradation behavior of polymeric hydrogels used in agriculture as soil moisture-retaining agents. The study raises concerns about whether these materials break down safely or contribute to microplastic accumulation in farmland soils.
Carboxylated Nanocellulose Superabsorbent: Biodegradation and Soil Water Retention Properties
Researchers tested biodegradable, cellulose-derived superabsorbent polymers for improving soil water retention in agriculture. Unlike conventional petroleum-based superabsorbents, these cellulose-based materials degrade in soil rather than persisting as microplastic particles.
Development and characterization of a carboxymethyl cellulose-alginate hybrid superabsorbent hydrogel designed for water management in agriculture
Researchers formulated a carboxymethyl cellulose and sodium alginate hydrogel for agricultural water retention, optimizing it to absorb over 1,600 times its weight in water while remaining thermally stable and reusable — offering a bio-based alternative to synthetic superabsorbent polymers that contribute to microplastic pollution in farmland soils.
Fabrication and Characterization of Biomass-derived Superabsorbent Bio-gel
Not relevant to microplastics — this paper develops and tests bio-based superabsorbent gels made from carboxymethyl cellulose as sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based superabsorbent polymers for water retention applications.
Biodegradable Polyesters in Soil - Real Environmental Hazard or Just a Storm in a Teacup?
This review critically examines whether biodegradable polyesters genuinely degrade in soil environments, finding that under field conditions many degrade slowly and incompletely, forming persistent microplastic particles ('microbioplastics') with largely unknown ecological consequences.
Advancements in Cellulose-Based Superabsorbent Hydrogels: Sustainable Solutions across Industries
This review explores how cellulose-based superabsorbent materials, made from sustainable plant sources, are being developed as eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic hydrogels for use in agriculture, medicine, and pollution control. These biodegradable materials could help reduce the growing microplastic problem caused by conventional synthetic hydrogels that break down into persistent plastic fragments in the environment.
Problems caused by microplastics in soil: Personal perspective
This perspective paper argues that microplastics in soil are an underappreciated legal and regulatory problem and presents experimental evidence showing polyethylene glycol caused water ponding and reduced infiltration by clogging soil pores. The author warns that microplastic polymer effects on soil hydrology could impair agricultural productivity.
Microplastics in agricultural soils: a new challenge not only for agro-environmental policy?
This review addresses microplastic pollution in agricultural soils, identifying farming practices like mulching and sludge application as significant sources and discussing potential impacts on soil health and food safety. It calls for both policy action and more research on microplastic behavior in terrestrial environments.
Optimizing biodegradable SAPs: A Systematic study of monovalent counterion effects on citrate-based networks
Researchers systematically studied how monovalent salt concentration affects the properties and biodegradation of superabsorbent polymers (SAPs), which are used in diapers and agriculture. Optimizing biodegradable SAPs helps reduce the long-term accumulation of persistent polymer gels in soils and water.
Microplastics in soils: A review of methods, occurrence, fate, transport, ecological and environmental risks
This review examines the sources, detection methods, and environmental behavior of microplastics in soils, an area that has received far less attention than marine microplastic pollution. Researchers found that microplastics interact with soil properties and organisms in complex ways, potentially entering the human food chain. The study calls for standardized methods and more research into how these tiny plastic particles move through and affect terrestrial ecosystems.
Environmental fate and impacts of microplastics in soil ecosystems: Progress and perspective
This review summarized knowledge on microplastics in soil environments, covering occurrence across agricultural, industrial, and urban soils, transport pathways, and ecological risks to soil organisms and plant communities. The authors identify key data gaps and methodological challenges that currently limit understanding of microplastic fate and impact in terrestrial systems.
Microplastics in terrestrial environments: Reviewing current understanding to determine the positive and negative aspects of soil
This review examines microplastics in terrestrial soils, covering their sources, distribution, and effects on soil health and organisms. It finds both negative impacts on soil function and organisms, as well as some neutral or context-dependent effects, and identifies key areas for future research.
Origin, Occurrence and Threats of Microplastics in Agricultural Soils: A Comprehensive Review
This comprehensive review examines how microplastics enter and accumulate in agricultural soils through plastic mulch films, sewage sludge, and fertilizers. Researchers found that polypropylene and polyethylene are the dominant polymers in farmland soils, and that microplastics negatively affect soil microbial communities, harm soil invertebrates, and can induce oxidative stress and cell damage in plants.