Recent Developments in Extraction, Identification, and Quantification of Microplastics from Agricultural Soil and Groundwater

Abstract

Microplastics have become a threat to the environment in recent years, and its adverse effect has direct impact on animals and human beings because of its accumulation in the environment. This chapter mainly deals with the source and contamination of microplastics in the agricultural soil and groundwater. Moreover, the experimental approach has been adopted to extract and investigate the presence of microplastics in the soil and groundwater and to classify microplastics based on their physical appearances, such as mass, shape, size, color, and chemical properties like diversity of microplastics characterized using Raman spectroscopy as well as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Sources of microplastics have been reported either in the aquatic environment or in the terrestrial ecosystem, which is widely described and noted down with respective experimental techniques for identification and quantification of microplastics in this chapter. Agricultural soils were stated to be dumping sites for waste collected from households in rural, urban, and industrial areas. Therefore, sewage sludge, industrial effluents, paints, discarded plastics, households materials, and fertilizers are common contributors of microplastics in agricultural soils and groundwater either through biological agents or vertical transport into aquifers. This chapter highlights the source, extraction approach, and quantification techniques for microplastics being applied in numerous research across the globe. The presence of microplastics in soil is affecting soil properties such as water infiltration capacity, bulk density, microbial activity, and soil structure. The chapter analytically argues the recent progress in various extraction, identification, and quantification process aims to identify the pertinent gaps in agricultural soils and groundwater and offers possible solutions by briefing the ongoing investigation to preclude these gaps through applicable scientific interventions.