Microplastics in Water: Occurrence, Environmental Effects, and Removal Methods

Microplastics, a group of contaminants, have recently been recognised as significant water pollutants with the potential to have adverse effects on both human health and the environment. The lack of sufficient analytical tools is the main challenge for microplastic detection, hindering a thorough understanding the fate of microplastics in water. Due to the presence of microplastics in water and wastewater treatment plants, concerns have been raised about the treated water quality. Their small size and diverse chemical composition allow microplastics to readily pass through water and wastewater treatment processes, entering remediation operations at different levels and posing operational and process stability difficulties. This chapter evaluates the occurrence, environmental effects, as well as currently available technologies for microplastic removal in water which can be classified into physical, biological, and chemical treatments. The mechanisms, efficiency, advantages, and disadvantages of different microplastic removal approaches are discussed.