Microplastics Pollution in Aquatic Media: Occurrence, Detection, and Removal (Environmental Footprints and Eco-design of Products and Processes)

This book highlights one of the most important water pollutants known as Microplastics. It has been reported that humans and the environment are dealing with microplastics particles in water and aquatic media. Despite the fact that such pollution might have mainly started out from the sea, it is now in lakes, rivers, ponds and even drinking water. This book presents as overview of microplastics in freshwater environments in different regions around the world. It discusses the ecotoxicological effects of microplastics, the removal/remediation techniques of microplastics and the role of water/wastewater treatment plants in spreading microplastics. This book is a valuable resource, covering wide aspects of microplastics from sources, detection and characterization to removal and their fate in treatment plants. Contents About the Editors Microplastics Occurrence in Different Regions Around the World 1 Introduction 2 Occurrence of MPs in Different Regions of the World 2.1 Europe 2.2 Asia 2.3 North America and South America 2.4 Australia, Africa, and Antarctica 3 Potential Sources of Microplastics 4 Pathways of Microplastics Entry into Marine Environments 5 Implications of Microplastic Ingestion on Humans 6 Need to Standardize Sampling Protocols 7 Conclusion References Microplastics Pollution in Rivers 1 Introduction 2 Microplastics Size, Morphology, and Composition 3 Method of MPs Sampling in River Water 4 Method of MPs Sampling in River Sediment 5 Determination of MPs Concentration and Transport Rate 6 Sources of MPs and Their Occurrence in Water and Sediments 7 MPs in Estuaries 8 Conclusion References Microplastics in Freshwater Environments and Drinking Water 1 Introduction 2 Articles Published on Microplastics in Freshwater Environments and Drinking Water: Where We Are? 3 Microplastics in Lotic Freshwater Environments 4 Microplastics in Lentic Freshwater Environments 5 Microplastics in Drinking Water 6 Perspectives for the Future References The Role of Rivers in Microplastics Spread and Pollution 1 Introduction 2 Source of Microplastics in the River 3 Microplastics Fate in the River 4 Microplastics Abundance in the River Water 5 Microplastics Abundance in the River Sediment 6 The Shape of Microplastics in the River 7 The Size of Microplastics in the River 8 Polymer Type of Microplastics in the River 9 Spatiotemporal Microplastics in the River 10 Microplastics in the River and Its Association 11 Conclusion References Microplastics Pollution in Coastal Zones 1 Introduction 1.1 Plastics and Polymers 1.2 Plastic Waste Pollution During the Pandemic 1.3 Plastic Pollution Scenario: Worldwide and India 1.4 Marine Pollution of Plastics 1.5 Microplastics 2 Marine Plastic and Microplastic Pollution 2.1 Occurrence and Abundance of Microplastics in the Marine Environment 2.2 Effects of Microplastics on the Marine Ecosystem 2.3 Plastic Waste Pollution in Marine Environment and Management 2.4 Bioremediation Technologies 3 Effects of Microplastic Pollution 3.1 Effects of Microplastics Exposure to Microalgae in Saltwater 3.2 Effects of Microplastics Ingestion in Holoplankton and Meroplankton: Field Studies 4 Conclusion References A Critical Review on Separation, Identification, Quantification and Removal of Microplastics in Environmental Samples: Developments and Challenges 1 Introduction 2 Distribution of Microplastics in the Environment 3 Interaction of Microplastics with the Environment 4 Effects of Microplastics in the Environment 5 Techniques for Extraction of Microplastics 5.1 Flotation Method 5.2 Magnetic Extraction 5.3 Enzymatic Digestion 6 Techniques for Separation of Microplastics 7 Techniques for Identification and Quantification of Microplastics 7.1 FTIR Microspectroscopy 7.2 Raman Microspectroscopy 7.3 Pyrolysis GC/MS 8 Removal of Microplastics 8.1 Biological Removal Method 8.2 Electrocoagulation 8.3 Electrooxidation and Photocatalytic TiO2 Micromotors 9 Conclusion References Pretreatment Methods for Further Analysis of Microplastics in Wastewater and Sludge Samples 1 Introduction 2 Organic Matter Removal Techniques 2.1 General Overview of Organic Removal Techniques and Their Application to Different Streams of a WWTP 2.2 Oxidative Techniques 2.3 Enzymatic Processes 2.4 Alkaline Treatments 2.5 Acidic Treatments 3 Staining Methods and Improvements in the Initial Microplastic Identification Stage 4 Conclusions References Microplastics Sampling and Recovery: Materials, Identification, Characterization Methods and Challenges 1 Introduction 2 Overview of Analytical Procedures 3 Collection of Environmental Samples (Air, Water, Soil) 3.1 Sampling 3.2 Air Sampling 3.3 Water Sampling 3.4 Soil Sampling 4 Separation Techniques 4.1 Flotation 4.2 Filtration 4.3 Digestion of the Organic-Sample-Matrix 5 Quantification and Identification of MPs 5.1 Morphology Characterization, Quantification, and Classification 5.2 Identification of MPs Polymer 6 Quality Control 7 Challenges and Future Perspectives 8 Summary References Ecotoxicity Assessment of Microplastics on Aquatic Life 1 Introduction 2 Methodology 2.1 Databases and Search Criteria 2.2 Extraction and Analysis of Information 3 Results and Discussion: Findings on Microplastics Toxicity 3.1 Toxicity of Different Types of MPs 3.2 Factors Affecting Toxicity of Microplastics 3.3 Effects in Different Organism Groups 4 Final Thoughts References Occurrence, Fate and Removal of Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) and Drinking Water Treatment Plants (DWTPs) 1 Introduction 2 Occurrence of Microplastics in Fresh Water 2.1 Source in Microplastics 2.2 Fate and Transport of Microplastics 3 WWTPs and Microplastics 3.1 Treatment Processes and Microplastics Removal in WWTPs 3.2 Microplastics in WWTPs Effluent 4 DWTPs and Microplastics 4.1 Treatment Processes and Microplastics Removal in DWTPs 5 Conclusion References Microplastic Pollution in Water and Their Removal in Various Wastewater Treatment Plants 1 Introduction 2 Environmental Pollutants 3 Microplastics Pollution in Aquatic Media: General Overview 4 Conventional WWTPs 5 Performance of WWTPs in Various Regions Around the World 5.1 USA 5.2 China 5.3 Italy 5.4 Spain 6 Conclusion References An Overview of Physical, Chemical and Biological Methods for Removal of Microplastics 1 Introduction 2 Methods for Removing Microplastics in Water and Wastewater Sources 2.1 Physical Methods 2.2 Chemical Methods 2.3 Biological Methods 3 Conclusion References Microplastics and Anaerobic Digestion 1 Introduction 2 Origin of Microplastics 3 Regulation Policies on Microplastics 4 Detection Methods for Microplastics 4.1 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) 4.2 Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) 4.3 Nanoparticles Tracking Analysis (NTA) 4.4 Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) 4.5 Raman and Micro-Raman Spectroscopy 4.6 Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (Pyr-GC-MS) 4.7 Focal Plan Array-Based System (FPA) Micro-FTIR 5 Presence of Microplastics in Sludge Impacts AD 5.1 Effects of Microplastics on Methane Formation During AD 5.2 Effects of Microplastics on the Methane-Forming Microbial Community During AD 5.3 Effect of Microplastics on Biofilm Formation During AD 5.4 Effect of Microplastics on the Proliferation of Antibiotic-Resistant Genes During AD 6 Recommendations for Further Studies 7 Conclusion References Role of Microplastics as Attachment Media for the Growth of Microorganisms 1 Introduction 2 Process of Biofilm Formation 3 Presence of Biofilm in Identified Environmental Matrices 4 Microplastic Pollution in Aquatic Media 5 Conclusion References Bioremediation Techniques for Microplastics Removal 1 An Introduction to Plastics Bioremediation, Types, and Application 2 A Brief Introduction to Organisms and Enzymes 3 Plastic Degradation and Biodegradation 4 Types of Plastics Based on Their Origin, Thermal Behavior, and Biodegradability 4.1 Thermoplastics and Thermosets 4.2 Bio-based or Fossil-Based Nonbiodegradable Plastics 4.3 Bio-based or Fossil-Based Biodegradable Plastics 5 Microplastics Types 6 Microplastics Toxicity on Living Organisms 6.1 Microplastics Toxicity on Microalgae 6.2 Microplastics Toxicity on Animals and Humans 7 Antibiotic Resistance and Microplastics 8 Microorganisms and Microplastics Interaction and Biofilm Formation 9 Biodegradation of Microplastics 9.1 Biodegradation by Bacteria and Bacteria Consortium 9.2 Biodegradation by Fungi 9.3 Biodegradation by Algae 9.4 Important Enzymes in Biodegradation 10 How to Find Proper Microorganisms for Biodegradation 10.1 Weight Measurement 10.2 Morphology Assessment 10.3 Structural Changes 10.4 Thermal Behavior 11 Engineering of Microorganisms for Bioremediation 11.1 Enzyme Engineering 11.2 Transgenesis 12 Metagenomics and in Silico Studies on Microplastics Bioremediation 13 Noteworthy Points on Biodegradable Plastics References