Microplastics as Vectors for Metals from Mines and Fuels: Environmental Pathways and Implications

Abstract

Microplastics can interact with metals, mines, and fuels in the environment through various pathways, including contaminant sorption, transport, bioaccumulation, and toxicological impacts. Understanding these interactions is crucial for assessing the environmental risks associated with microplastics and developing effective strategies for pollution mitigation and environmental remediation. Due to their widespread use in modern society and aquatic systems, micro/ nano plastics, a subset of plastics with an effective width less than 5 mm, have emerged as a new type of micro contaminant. These tiny fragments of tarnished microplastic beads from cosmetic products, particularly from detergents and shampoos, have been discovered by researchers to be present in air, soil, lakes, and even the oceans. The pollution of our environment with microplastics is seen as a severe threat to ecosystems, particularly aquatic environments. The negative impacts of microplastic pollution can be effectively reduced by excluding them at the locations where they are discharged. Although the waste water treatment systems of today, are capable of eliminating microplastic to a limited extent. Due to their structural flexibility and multifunctionality, nanomaterials are being utilised more frequently today to treat drinking water and wastewater, which increases treatment efficiency. In particular, the versatile properties of nanomaterials have been employed to create high performance adsorbent and use it as a photocatalyst for removing microplastic from an aqueous environment. This review examines the removal and effects of microplastics while providing proactive ways to deal with any process bottlenecks.