Micro and Nanoplastics: Contamination of Air, Water, and Soil

Today, there are over 5300 polymers; “plastics” refers to a wide range of these synthetic and semi-synthetic materials (Zimmermann 2021). A high-molecular-weight polymer is a significant component of plastics, which can flow moulded at some point in their production into final goods (ISO 472:2013). Specifically, the International Organization for Standardization provided this explanation (ISO). Vocabulary concerning plastics: tiny plastic particles can be categorized as microplastics or nanoplastics (1 micrometre to 5 millimetres), while the size boundary between the categories (1000 vs 100 nm) is still up for discussion (Babick et al. 2016) (less than 1000 nm). The smallest size deemed a microplastic has no official upper limit. However, in recent years, scientists have started referring to particles smaller than a few micrometres in size as “nanoplastic.” It is challenging to remove such tiny particles from their surroundings using straightforward processes like filtering, which can be employed for microplastics; therefore, the distinction is more than just a formality; it is helpful. Thanks to Bakelite, the first synthetic polymer ever created, at least 15 different kinds of synthetic polymers were produced in large quantities. Modern manufactured polymers saw a dramatic surge in use worldwide starting in the late 1950s (Geyer 2020). In 1907, phenol-formaldehyde resin, popularly known as bakelite, debuted. Since then, it has developed into one of the most often-used materials. The amount of plastic produced globally in 1950 was only 1.5 million tonnes (Luan et al. 2022). The United Nations world population sensor report for 2019 confirmed this, estimating that there were 7.7 billion people on Earth in the middle of the year (Vankayala and Vankayala 2019).