Microplastics in ecosystems: their implications and mitigation pathways

Roy, Poritosh; Mohanty, Amar K.; Misra, Manjusri

doi:10.1039/d1va00012h

Cited by 51 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 197 publications

(500 reference statements)

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“…Landfilling, for example, can affect the ecosystem and numerous marine species through microplastic generation, which can get into the food chain easily. 4,5 Incineration however is an expensive and not efficient technique. It is not sustainable when it comes to energy recovery and climate change.…”

Section: ■ Disposal Mechanisms and Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Upcycling of Plastic Wastes and Biomass for Sustainable Graphitic Carbon Production: A Critical Review

2022

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Upcycling of waste plastics diverts plastics from landfill, which helps in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Graphitic carbon is an interesting material with a wide range of applications in electronics, energy storage, fuel cells, and even as advanced fillers for polymer composites. It is a very strong and highly conductive material consisting of weakly bound graphene layers arranged in a hexagonal structure. There are different ways of synthesizing graphitic carbons, of which the co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastic wastes is a promising approach for large-scale production. Highly graphitized carbon with surface areas in the range of 201 m2/g was produced from the co-pyrolysis of polyethylene and pinewood at 600 °C. Similarly, porous carbon having a superior discharge capacity (290 mAh/g) was developed from the co-pyrolysis of sugar cane and plastic polymers with catalysts. The addition of plastic wastes including polyethylene and high-density polyethylene to the pyrolysis of biomass tends to increase the surface area and improve the discharge capacity of the produced graphitic carbons. Likewise, temperature plays an important role in enhancing the carbon content and thereby the quality of the graphitic carbon during the co-pyrolysis process. The application of metal catalysts can reduce the graphitization temperature while at the same time improve the quality of the graphitic carbon by increasing the carbon contents. This work reports some typical graphitic carbon preparation methods from the co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastic wastes for the first time including thermochemical methods, exfoliation methods, template-based production methods, and salt-based methods. The factors affecting the graphitic char quality during the conversion processes are reviewed critically. Moreover, the current state-of-the-art characterization technologies such as Raman, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are discussed in detail, and finally, an overview on the applications, scalability, and future trends of graphitic-like carbons is highlighted.

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Section: ■ Disposal Mechanisms and Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Landfilling and incineration are among the widely used disposal mechanisms; there are, however, severe environmental and health-related consequences with these disposal systems. Landfilling, for example, can affect the ecosystem and numerous marine species through microplastic generation, which can get into the food chain easily. , …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Upcycling of Plastic Wastes and Biomass for Sustainable Graphitic Carbon Production: A Critical Review

2022

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“…Co-occurring MPs and heavy metals in soil pose an alarming threat to soil biodiversity and agroecosystem (Roy et al 2022 ). Heavy metals, the nonbiodegradable inorganic pollutants, have long-term negative impacts on human and ecosystem health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occurrence, distribution, and characteristics of microplastics in agricultural soil around a solid waste treatment center in southeast China

Liu

Lin

et al. 2022

J Soils Sediments

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Purpose In recent years, microplastic (MP) contamination has raised enormous concern. However, data on the influence of solid waste treatment systems on MP pollution around agricultural soil are lacking. This study investigated the distribution and characteristics of MPs in agricultural soil surrounding a solid waste treatment center in southeastern China. Materials and methods Fifty-seven agricultural topsoil samples around the solid waste treatment center were collected. The samples were pretreated by drying, flotation separation using NaCl solution, and digestion by H 2 O 2 . The abundance and morphological characteristics of MPs were determined by a microscope, followed by Raman spectroscopy analysis identified polymer types and SEM–EDS analysis observed surface morphology and the type of metals accumulated on the MPs. Results and discussion Soil MPs’ abundance ranged from 280 to 2360 items/kg, while a higher abundance of MPs was distributed in the downwind area. The < 1-mm MPs were dominant, and white fragment MPs were widely found. Polyethylene (52.86%) and polypropylene (27.14%) were the most common. Moreover, SEM–EDS images illustrated that MPs were significantly weathered and showed the uneven distribution of metal(loid) elements on the surface, implying that MPs may migrate as heavy metal vectors to threaten agroecosystem safety. Conclusions This study reveals the distribution and characteristics of MPs in agricultural soil surrounding a solid waste treatment center in southeastern China, as well as the potential source of soil MPs, and provides systematic data for further research on MP pollution in agricultural soil. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11368-022-03341-6.

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“…Wastes of durable plastics, specifically, from single-use packaging with a short shelf life, are now one of the main contributors to environmental pollution, evidenced by the presence of plastic debris everywhere in aquatic and terrestrial resources. 1 Replacing petroleum-based plastics with bio-based and biodegradable ones, which are capable of degrading back to the nature, is one of the approaches for tackling this crisis. 2 During recent years, different commercially available biodegradable polymers such as thermoplastic starch, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), poly(lactic acid) (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL), poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), and poly-(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) have received incalculable attention for the synthesis of numerous innovative polymer blends and composites to diminish these environmental concerns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodegradable Polymer Blends: Studies on Performance Control through Droplet to Co-continuous Morphology

Pesaranhajiabbas

Pal

Rodriguez‐Uribe

et al. 2022

ACS Appl. Polym. Mater.

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This is the first-ever scientific report on melt blending of two tough home-compostable bioplastics, namely, bio-based poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (BioPBSA) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT). The micrographs from scanning electron microscopy showed that the morphology changed from a droplet-matrix to a co-continuous one as the PBAT concentration was increased in blends. Rheological studies revealed an increase in viscosity and storage modulus of some blends, specifically, the one with 30 wt % of PBAT, as compared to neat biopolymers, as evidence of compatibilization between two bioplastics. The crystallization temperature of PBAT reduced in the presence of BioPBSA, but the presence of a solid PBAT phase did not affect the crystallization of BioPBSA significantly. PBAT showed high capability to enhance the %elongation at break of BioPBSA except in blends with an equal concentration of biopolymers. The appropriate blends having balanced melt elasticity and %elongation show promise for flexible packaging uses as sustainable alternatives to their non-biodegradable plastics such as polyethylene.

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Microplastics in ecosystems: their implications and mitigation pathways

Abstract: Microplastic (MPs) pollution is an emerging threat to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. It is abundant, environmentally persistent, and complex. Environmental, economic, and societal concerns over the effect of MP pollution...

Cited by 51 publications

References 197 publications

Upcycling of Plastic Wastes and Biomass for Sustainable Graphitic Carbon Production: A Critical Review

Upcycling of Plastic Wastes and Biomass for Sustainable Graphitic Carbon Production: A Critical Review

Occurrence, distribution, and characteristics of microplastics in agricultural soil around a solid waste treatment center in southeast China

Biodegradable Polymer Blends: Studies on Performance Control through Droplet to Co-continuous Morphology

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