Investigation of microplastics removal methods from aquatic environments

Abstract

Microplastics are less than 5 mm in length and are polymer chains containing carbon and hydrogen atoms. It poses a direct and indirect danger to all living things in the ecosystem. It is found in products such as microplastics, synthetic clothes, plastic bags and bottles, some cleaners, health and beauty products, toothpaste and causes both soil and water pollution from wastewater systems and solid waste. This situation not only threatens the life of creatures living in aquatic ecosystems such as rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans but also penetrates the human body through the food chain, causing various health problems, especially cancer. As with all environmental pollutants, microplastics need to reduce pollution at the source. In this research, treatment methods applied to remove microplastics that cannot be prevented at source from the water ecosystem were investigated and evaluated. According to the results, in wastewater treatment plants, the highest efficiency of microplastic removal is provided by membrane bioreactors. However, by imitating the microplastic removal capabilities and structures of living things in nature, studies on the discovery of new methods of microplastic removal can also be conducted.