Microplastics in Terrestrial Soils: Occurrence, Analysis, and Remediation

Abstract

AbstractThe production of synthetic polymers has increased in manifolds since the advancement of petroleum engineering. These cosmopolitan artificial materials are now persistent in almost every ecosystem on planet earth. This could be attributed to the higher tendency of polymer disintegration and lower polymer degradation in the ambient environments. The processes of polymer disintegration lead to the formation of microscopic plastic particles, referred to as ‘microplastics’. Significant research in emerging environmental contaminants focuses on microplastics, their occurrence in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and adverse effects on biota, humans and other environmental compartments. Therefore, taking account of the background, this chapter summarizes the different strategies for the chemical extraction of microplastics from soil samples and further qualitative and quantitative analysis via distinct spectrophotometric techniques. All over the world, rivers, lakes, and associated floodplains are some of the most polluted ecosystems. The Indian rivers, including Meghna, Brahmaputra and Ganges are polluted with 72,845 tonnes of plastic loads per annum which eventually is transported into the oceans. The existing literature also presents a picture that microplastic pollution studies are usually focused on aquatic ecosystems such as oceans, lakes and rivers. However, microplastic pollution in floodplain soils is a major neglected research question. Therefore, this chapter aims to focus on the occurrence of microplastics in terrestrial soils such as floodplains, their origin and sources, and how to extract and quantify microplastic presence in the geological samples. Furthermore, microplastics are non-uniform in terms of their physicochemical characteristics and degradation. Numerous forms of microplastics pollute aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, an emphasis is also laid down on the microplastic control and remediation techniques in these natural ecosystems for scientific inquiry.KeywordsSynthetic polymersMicroplasticsFloodplainsSediments