Research progress on environmental occurrence of microplastics and their interaction mechanism with organic pollutants

Abstract

Microplastics are ubiquitous in various environmental media on a global scale, and can adsorb co-existing pollutants, especially organic pollutants, thus changing the environmental behavior and toxicity of pollutants; they can also promote the migration of pollutants in different media through adsorption/desorption. Influencing factors and mechanisms of adsorption between microplastics and organic pollutants are necessary information for a comprehensive assessment of the environmental risks of microplastics and organic pollutants. Due to the complexity of composition, structure and surface characteristics of microplastics and the diversity of co-existing organic pollutants, the interaction between them is very complex. The authors systematically summarized the current status of occurrence and migration of microplastic in environmental media, the influencing factors of microplastic adsorption of organic pollutants and their interaction mechanisms, with a view to providing useful references for the in-depth understanding of the environmental behavior and ecological risks of microplastics.