The chemical behaviors of microplastics in marine environment: A review

Xuan Guo; Jianlong Wang

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.03.019

The chemical behaviors of microplastics in marine environment: A review

Mar Pollut Bull. 2019 May:142:1-14. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.03.019. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

Authors

Xuan Guo¹, Jianlong Wang²

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Environmental Technology, INET, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China.
² Laboratory of Environmental Technology, INET, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Radioactive Waste Treatment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China. Electronic address: wangjl@tsinghua.edu.cn.

PMID: 31232281
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.03.019

Abstract

Microplastics are widely existed in marine and coastal environments, which aroused global concern in recent years. This review mainly summarized the interactions of organic pollutants and metals with microplastics based on environmental monitoring results and laboratory results reported by literatures. Firstly, the type, properties, and distribution of microplastics in the environment were briefly reviewed. Secondly, the property changes of microplastics after degradation were discussed. Thirdly, the concentrations of pollutants on microplastics in global environments were summarized. Then the effect of the factors (e.g. types and properties of microplastics, types of pollutants, and environmental conditions) on the sorption behaviors of microplastics were discussed in detail. Finally, the influences of microplastics on marine organisms were briefly evaluated.

Keywords: Degradation; Ingestion; Metals ions; Microplastics; Organic pollutants; Sorption.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Environmental Monitoring
Oceans and Seas
Plastics / chemistry*
Water Pollutants, Chemical / chemistry*

Substances

Plastics
Water Pollutants, Chemical