Nanoplastic mitigation technologies: challenges and sustainability considerations

The rise of plastic pollution has led to widespread environmental contamination by their tiny fragments, posing alarming environmental threats and health risks. Nanoplastics, NPs (<1000 nm) are particularly concerning due to their enhanced reactivity, potential to cross biological barriers and complex interactions with environmental matrices. Laboratory studies rely heavily on synthetic polystyrene beads, despite polystyrene constituting only 4.5% of global plastic production. Real-world NPs exist as hetero-aggregates with eco-corona layers, significantly altering their reactivity and toxicity. Furthermore, NPs interact with heavy metals and organic pollutants, modifying their fate and altering transport and remediation outcomes.

This perspective discusses the limitations of current water treatment plant (WTP) processes, highlighting emerging mitigation technologies, associated challenges, and the possibility of their incorporation into existing treatment settings. Enhanced adsorption, nano-enabled membrane filtration, photocatalytic degradation, magnetic microrobots, emulsions, deep eutectic solvents, and plasma technology show initial promise but face challenges like integration in existing treatment setups, high costs, regeneration difficulties, and potential for secondary pollution. Future research should focus on adapting mitigation techniques to diverse environmental matrices and their integration into existing setups, ensuring sustainability and resource recovery while achieving complete mineralization or recovery of NPs.