Sanjeev Nayanathara O, Vallabha Manjunath Singanodi, Rabi Rebekah Rubidha Lisha
Department of Civil Engineering, Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi - 626005, Tamil Nadu, India.
Department of Civil Engineering, B.M.S. College of Engineering, Bangalore, 560019, Karnataka, India.
Beilstein J Nanotechnol. 2025 Sep 15;16:1607-1632. doi: 10.3762/bjnano.16.114. eCollection 2025.
The increasing prevalence of microplastics (MPs) in aquatic environments has raised significant concerns due to their persistence, potential for bioaccumulation, and adverse effects on human and ecosystem health. Conventional wastewater treatment technologies are largely inadequate for effectively removing MPs, especially those in the nanosize range. This review presents a detail analysis of the sources, pathways, detection methods, and health impact of MPs, while emphasizing the emerging role of nanotechnology in their remediation. Nanomaterials, including nanoadsorbents, photocatalysts, and advanced membrane materials, exhibit unique properties such as high surface area, enhanced reactivity, and tunable surface chemistry, which offer promising avenues for the selective and efficient removal of MPs from water. This paper also explores the mechanism, performance and limitations of various nanoenabled treatment strategies such as adsorption, photocatalysis, and membrane filtration using materials like metal-organic frameworks, carbon-based nanomaterials, MXenes, and metal oxides. It also highlights recent innovations such as microrobotic systems and AI-assisted detection frameworks for MP monitoring. Despite high laboratory scale efficiencies, there are several challenges such as material scalability, environmental safety, regulatory frameworks, and real water applicability. This study proposes future directions for sustainable nanotechnology deployment, including green synthesis, hybrid system integration, and machine learning optimization. Together, these approaches aim to establish a comprehensive, scalable, and environmentally safe solution for the remediation of MPs in wastewater systems.
微塑料（MPs）在水生环境中的日益普遍，因其持久性、生物累积潜力以及对人类和生态系统健康的不利影响而引发了重大关注。传统的废水处理技术在有效去除微塑料方面大多不足，尤其是那些纳米尺寸范围内的微塑料。本综述详细分析了微塑料的来源、途径、检测方法及其对健康的影响，同时强调了纳米技术在其修复中的新兴作用。包括纳米吸附剂、光催化剂和先进膜材料在内的纳米材料具有诸如高比表面积、增强的反应性和可调表面化学性质等独特性能，为从水中选择性和高效去除微塑料提供了有前景的途径。本文还探讨了使用金属有机框架、碳基纳米材料、MXenes和金属氧化物等材料进行吸附、光催化和膜过滤等各种纳米处理策略的机制、性能和局限性。它还强调了诸如用于微塑料监测的微型机器人系统和人工智能辅助检测框架等最新创新。尽管在实验室规模上效率很高，但仍存在一些挑战，如材料可扩展性、环境安全性、监管框架和实际水体适用性。本研究提出了可持续纳米技术应用的未来方向，包括绿色合成、混合系统集成和机器学习优化。总之，这些方法旨在为废水系统中微塑料的修复建立一个全面、可扩展且环境安全的解决方案。
