The plastic in microplastics: A review

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin Vol. 119; no. 1; pp. 12 - 22
• Main Author: Andrady, Anthony L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 15-06-2017
• Subjects: Environmental Monitoring; Fragmentation; Marine; Marine Biology; Microplastics; Oceans and Seas; Plastics; Surface ablation; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Microplastics; Marine; Plastics; Surface ablation; Fragmentation
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.01.082

Microplastics [MPs], now a ubiquitous pollutant in the oceans, pose a serious potential threat to marine ecology and has justifiably encouraged focused biological and ecological research attention. But, their generation, fate, fragmentation and their propensity to sorb/release persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are determined by the characteristics of the polymers that constitutes them. Yet, physico-chemical characteristics of the polymers making up the MPs have not received detailed attention in published work. This review assesses the relevance of selected characteristics of plastics that composes the microplastics, to their role as a pollutant with potentially serious ecological impacts. Fragmentation leading to secondary microplastics is also discussed underlining the likelihood of a surface-ablation mechanism that can lead to preferential formation of smaller sized MPs.
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•Nature of polymers that constitute microplastics (MPs) influence their fate and their ecological impacts in the ocean.•Average molecular weight, structural chemistry, and crystallinity of plastics can all influence the fate of MPs in the oceans.•Compared to biological aspects of MPs in the ocean their physico-chemical characteristics have received little attention.•Fragmentation of plastics in the field can also occur via surface ablation generating large numbers of daughter MPs.