Microplastics in the Marine Environment: Challenges and the Shift Towards Sustainable Plastics and Plasticizers

IF 12.2 1区 环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL
Sarah A. Ghobish, Cherie A. Motti, Alex C. Bissember, George Vamvounis
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Abstract

The United Nations (UN) estimate that around 75–199 million tons of plastic is floating in the world’s oceans today. Continuous unintentional disposal of plastic waste in marine environments has and continues to cause significant biological impacts to various marine organisms ranging from mild difficulties in swimming or superficial damage to critical organ malfunctions and mortality. Over time, plastics in these environments degrade into microplastics which are now acknowledged as a pervasive harmful pollutant found in the cryosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere. In response to this issue, the production of bespoke biodegradable bioplastics derived from renewable resources, such as vegetable oils, starch and plant fibres, is emerging to mitigate our reliance on environmentally persistent conventional fossil fuel-based plastics. While bioplastics degrade more readily than conventional plastics, they present new challenges, including leaching of toxic chemical additives and plasticizers into the environment. Consequently, various techniques were explored in the search for sustainable plasticizers, from cheap, non-toxic compounds such as vegetable oils and sugars to hyperbranched structures with limited migration. This article seeks to explain the intricate relationship between the problem of microplastics in marine environments and the strategies being investigated to address it thus far.

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来源期刊
Journal of Hazardous Materials
Journal of Hazardous Materials 工程技术-工程:环境
CiteScore
25.40
自引率
5.90%
发文量
3059
审稿时长
58 days
期刊介绍: The Journal of Hazardous Materials serves as a global platform for promoting cutting-edge research in the field of Environmental Science and Engineering. Our publication features a wide range of articles, including full-length research papers, review articles, and perspectives, with the aim of enhancing our understanding of the dangers and risks associated with various materials concerning public health and the environment. It is important to note that the term "environmental contaminants" refers specifically to substances that pose hazardous effects through contamination, while excluding those that do not have such impacts on the environment or human health. Moreover, we emphasize the distinction between wastes and hazardous materials in order to provide further clarity on the scope of the journal. We have a keen interest in exploring specific compounds and microbial agents that have adverse effects on the environment.
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