Chemical Engineering Journal 430 (2022) 132913 Available online 13 October 2021 1385-8947/© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. An assessment of micro- and nanoplastics in the biosphere: A review of detection, monitoring, and remediation technology Swapnil M. Patil a , Niraj R. Rane a , Paul O. Bankole b , Prakash Krishnaiah a , Yongtae Ahn c , Young-Kwon Park d , Krishna Kumar Yadav e , Mahammed A. Amin f , Byong-Hun Jeon a, * a Department of Earth Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea b Department Pure and Applied Botany, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria c Center for Environment, Health, and Welfare Research, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul, Republic of Korea d School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Republic of Korea e Faculty of Science and Technology, Madhyanchal Professional University, Ratibad, Bhopal 462044, India f Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Microplastic (MPs) pollution Nanoplastics (NPs) Monitoring in the biosphere Analytical detection methods Remediation techniques ABSTRACT Plastics have become a pervasive feature of modern life and are used in every aspect of modern-day life, from agriculture to microchips. Microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) have been detected in marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and even in areas distant from the source of origin. There are still questions related to the source, weathering, transportation, and ecological impacts of biospheric MNPs. The problem is caused by inadequate physical analysis and lack of methods for standardizing sampling and identifying biospheric MNPs. There are only a few review papers that emphasize the sources of MNPs and their occurrence in various organisms. Monitoring and detection of MNPs in the environment, as well as physical-chemical and biological methods for their removal, are still unclear. The mechanism underlying the formation of MNPs, factors affecting their transportation and distribution in the biosphere are reviewed here. This review provides a comprehensive summary and analysis of the latest research updates on quantifcation, analysis, and abatement of MNPs. The comparisons of removal technologies based on their performance, sensitivity, economic feasibility, and volume handling capacity could help to design an effcient MNPs remediation strategy considering the source, charac- teristics, concentration, and volume of samples. Insights for future research recommendations are provided by identifying existing research loopholes and futuristic methodologies for MNPs detection, entrapment, and removal from the biosphere. 1. Introduction Plastic products are used in almost all sectors of life, including in- dustries, agriculture, and medicine. This is owing to their exceptional features such as durability, lightweight, ease of use, and low production costs [1]. These benefcial features mainly drive the exponential in- crease in the world’s plastic production, which has been observed since 1950 and exceeded 368 million metric tons (MMT) in 2019 [2]. The per capita use of plastics is gradually increasing, which is directly related to population and economic growth. Consequently, increased use and production of plastics has resulted in the generation of more plastic waste, and in 2020, almost 284 MMT of plastic garbage was generated [1–3]. Approximately 50% of plastic is single-used and discarded without proper management and it is estimated that 12000 MMT of plastic garbage will be generated worldwide by 2050 [4]. Of this huge litter quantity, only 9% is recycled, resulting in a growing garbage pile up, and >80% of these plastics end up in landflls or are released into nature [5]. As the demand for plastic is increasing in all sectors of in- dustrial, agricultural, medicine, fshing, construction, and transport di- vision, the distribution of plastic litter has increased in the biosphere. All forms of life are being affected by plastic litter, which has become a global issue. 1.1. Sources and characteristics of MNPs Low biodegradability of plastic polymers leads to a long * Corresponding author. E-mail address: bhjeon@hanyang.ac.kr (B.-H. Jeon). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Chemical Engineering Journal journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cej https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2021.132913